Disclaimer: I own nothing. This story has no interest in offending any party. Having the sole objective of only entertaining the readers. Enjoy~
.....
"You know, I guess one person can make a difference. Nuff said"
-Stan Lee, Spider-Man 3
.....
Recap: As promised, let me make a compilation of everything did and acquired in the One Piece world.
- All Devil Fruits shown in the past and future
- Technology of the MADs. Clones, Multibody
- Character development in not seeing people as fictional characters.
- Accepting that he needs to trail the thin line ebtween good and evil.
-Having fun and getting happy
- Now he can separate a power in smaller ones and even create a Power Orb
- Artificially be capable of creating physiologies with the enhancements of the serums.
- Dauntless with Soru Soru no mi is OP.
- Much better in magic
- Cortana and Saeko in the harem. Hiyori and Yamato too.
- Two kids
- Deadbeat father, now work hard to create a good legacy
That's it, I think.
Now stay with this Christmas gift.
Enjoy~
.....
.....
Helena P.O.V.
"Helena, come and give this guy an earful too!" It's the first thing Shego says to me as I walk down the stairs to Hector's living room.
Yesterday he went to his convenient 3-month-in-1-second trip to another universe.
In the living room, there are the expected initial members of this ever-growing group(How many are there now?) plus Cassandra and the pets... And is that a tree? That alien black dog is new too.
"What he did do this time that not even your chaotic brain can't forgi-??" I start saying before being pulled in a hug by Hector himself
"Long time no see..." He says while pressing me against his chest
"..."
"Missed you, Helena." He smiles affectionately at me after pulling me away and giving me a long look at my face, even putting some strands of hair behind my ear.
"...okay. Sorry that I can't say the same."
He laughs a very carefree laugh to my quip before going to sit on his chair.
"By the way this is Groot and that one is Rover." Hector points to the Tree Man and the dog
"I am Groot."
"Yeah... Hector just told me that. I'm Helena." I say strangely
"Don't mind him, he can only say those words..."
"I am Groot." He repeats, but this time with a nod
"See? With time you can understand what he says." Hector adds
"I am Groot."
Okay, I think I'm catching a little...
"Don't go changing the subject!" Shego still impatiently stamping her foot on the floor.
"Shego, let it rest... It's done." Hector sighs
"Will not stop me from tearing you off to make me that you will never repeat it again." She argues
"Will not happen ag-..." He starts saying but shuts his mouth for some reason.
"Okay... What's going on here?"
"This guy had a child!!!" Shego points at Hector
"Whaaat??" I turn to him, waiting for him to deny it, but he just looks to his front sheepishly "Hector?!!?"
"That was exactly my reaction!" Shego points at me
I'm in shock "Wha- Like, who- How? Why? What?!!?"
He sighs again "I think that was the normal reaction..." Then he chuckles "So I'm not the weird one."
"Don't laugh! Do you know what makes it worse?" Shego shouts at him and turns to me "It's two! Two children with two different women!"
"..." That got out of hand quickly.
This guy is a father already? I mean... I think he will be a good one... In ten years! He is 16!!
"But seriously, this is really out of character... Can you explain this to us?" I say, diplomatically, I can give him the benefit of the doubt
"Yeah, Hector. Defend yourself." Shego adds while crossing her arms in a bossy attitude.
He sighs again "I already did... Shego is being a drama queen."
"..."
Well, this I believe.
"Basically... I ended up liking to be in that world more than I expected, even interfered more than expected. So, I was really regretful in leaving it forever..."
"Hm? Can't you go back?" I ask I do not know exactly how his powers work
"I can go to an exactly similar universe, but not the same... Infinite paralels universe. And it's like... Even if is the same, it's not the same people you know, Right?"
"I can understand it..." I agree with him
"Continuing, the marriage and kid thing was presented to me by a local woman... She was not happy with the fact that I would disappear from her life forever..."
"Manwhore..." Shego adds, making Hector's lips twitch
"Anyway..."
Hector continues to explain his train of thought in cementing that world as a "real port" to him. Apparently, he hesitated a lot on the child part, but eventually relented when he noticed that would be for the best of... his wife(weird saying that). She would have company in his years of absence. She agreed too.
Well, it's bad... But I don't know how the... wife thinks. Is this worse than her simply being single and waiting for him? Afraid of ending up loving another man?
Anyone has their own weird way of thinking. Shego here is an example.
"So you can't go back now?" I ask "Left your children fatherless?" I raise an eyebrow at him and damn...
Hector is very good at hiding his emotions. His poker face is flawless, but he can't hide the wince. He must been feeling a lot of guilt.
"Right now? No... But I will work on a safe way to get there. I think I can go back between one and two years..." He says
"Hm... So the child would be 18 months as their oldest... Not that bad." I say to make him feel better "But you're scum." I add because he can't feel too good either
"Argh... I know, but is more from our perspective. People there are strange in this aspect... A backward world 97% water. Only islands and no continents... it becomes normal for fathers to stay a lot of time away from their hometown and children. Ask Cassandra!" Hector defends himself
"...yes. Weirdos." She nods and confirms his words while rubbing the alien dog's fur.
"So it's culturally accepted, huh?" I'm starting to get the full picture here. He was infected by their customs... It happens I guess.
A bunch of aliens took a lot of human customs while living with us in my former universe.
"Are you really accepting his bullshit? This is about you, Hector! So what now? Are you gonna spread your seed across the Omniverse??" Shego interrupts
"..." His face is weird "I can't guarantee that I will don't do it..." He says slowly
"..."
"It's not my intention, okay? But I will live for a looong time! I have time and I have options, thanks to my powers, so the things I could do make a long list." He argues
"..."
"I decided to stop living so much in the future with my overthinker mind and take the chances that life gives me. My life sometimes looks so banal... Surrounded by people that I saw from other fictional universes... It's wrong of me to try to create something more 'real'? To ground me to reality?" He asks genuinely in exasperation
"..." I have no idea.
"I have no fucking idea." Shego says my thoughts.
That's the guy who can create money, and clone women... What can he not have? Maybe he wants something out of his control... Weird, but I can't judge without being in his shoes.
"Are you bringing them here?" I ask
"... I don't know. That's why I want time. To think how I will do this." He answers with a sigh "I will conveniently have time to figure out who I am... With a positive influence and motivation now."
"..." I think I'm getting the gist of it. Yeah, with the exception of him being an absent Father for the first two years. It has no other downsides.
"Fine, fine..." Shego says "You did it, now there's no backsies. You can only own up now and do your best in the future." She says, suddenly giving good advice
"Agreed..."
"Now, the important question... These women... Are they redheads?" Shego asks while staring at his soul
Seriously? This is what is important to you??
"Pfft. No. Wrong this time." He answers immediately and in a relaxed way
"Hmm" She narrows her eyes "Are they Asian then?"
"..." Now he pauses in shock.
He puts a hand on his chin and looks flagersbasted
"Damn... I coincidentally went to the one Asian island there..." He looks impressed for some reason.
"I knew it! You fetishist bastard!" Shego accuses
"It was a coincidence. I didn't even think about that!" He argues
Shego can latch on to the most useless things. I can only shake my head at their antics. Well, better to argue about something this silly than something serious.
"Oops, Look's what we have here... Duty calls." Hector suddenly looks away and in a fast movement he is standing on his Eidolon's suit "Hero's Time!" He disappears
"..."
"...and he can use this excuse all the time." Shego huffs
True, he probably is not lying. The world needs Eidolon 24/7.
"So this is his new pet? Good boy~" Shego turns to Rover, who is on Cassandra's lap, and pats his head.
Surprisingly she likes animals. She likes them more than humans...
"And he let the dog with the Chinese girl? Ironic..." Aaaand this is Shego...
If she is not offending anyone Every 5 minutes something is wrong with her. Not surprising.
What surprises me is Cassandra, in a rare expressive moment, giving her the middle finger.
She normally only deadpans and doesn't care about almost anything, this trip apparently opened up her a bit.
"Oh!" Shego puts her hand over her chest exaggeratedly "You... Fliping me off... *Sniff*" She makes a show of removing a tear from her eye "I'm so proud of you... They grow so fast."
"..." I really can't let Shego influence Cassandra too much.
...
Third Person P.O.V.
"Like... What is your plan again?" Eidolon tilts his head to the side in confusion.
He is standing on a certain fallen villain, but...
Sometimes Hector forgot the long list of C-rank villains with ridiculous powers created by sleep-deprived, cigarette-addicted writers just to fill issues in Marvel.
"Like... You're a wall... No power-shaming and all but... You're literally a brick wall." Eidolon asks a little weirded out.
"I'm not a wall... I'm the Wall! The wall Spider-man can't crawl!" Joshua Waldemeyer, the villain in question shouts in a typical villain introduction in the 80's
" 'The wall Spider-man can't crawl'... This is weirdly cool and lame at the same time." Eidolon deadpans "So you're from Spider's Rogue gallery? The guy really has a big collection... Anyway, bad timing... The Raft was just built. You're going to a special prison to metas."
"No! It's all that Web-head fault!!" The Wall shouts in indignation
"How so?" Eidolon engages with him
"While he was jumping around fighting some freakies, an explosion engulfed me together with a wall! The bricks fused with me! And now I'm this... this... Thing!" He explains his backstory still in his 80's style
"The Thing is the other rock dude..." Eidolon quips "But I understand from where you're coming from. But you can't blame Spider-man for this... You're lucky that you're not dead."
'But seriously? Bricks fell on him and he became a wall? What drugs are the writers using? I need to ban it...' Eidolon thinks
Now a dilemma forms in his mind. He can help this dude by taking away this... [Brick Wall Physiology], but this would out his capabilities to the world.
"..." The police finally arrive while Eidolon is thinking "You know? It was this or being a red paint on the concrete." The hero addresses the Wall while he is being directed to the special car "And powers acquired in such unstable way probably will wear off, have faith."
While saying this he was thinking of investigating the criminal backstory of the guy and maybe making a stealth visit to take away his power.
Hector accompanied the Raft's construction closely, he knows it like Batman knows Arkham. He doesn't plan to allow it to become a cesspool of evil where the villains can only remain villains.
'In Old Man Logan, the comic, the villains outnumber the heroes greatly and they ganged up on them, causing the fall of the hero Society and Society in general. The world becomes Madmax...' He thinks
While watching the police taking the C-rank villain away he looks at the sky and sighs
"It's here... The Dawn of Meta Society..."
More and more people with powers will appear, aliens will not be hidden from the world, secret societies will grow bold and act openly, and conflicts will inevitably increase.
"The tutorial is over..."
...
In another part of the city, Spider-man swings away after capturing another C-rank villain
Stilt-man is a guy that has long robotic legs and... Well, that's it.
"*Huff* Where did those people come from? There's some sales of 50% off villain costumes and weird powers online?" Spider-man asks himself after landing on the parapet of a roof
"Bored? Or are you missing the Green Goblin?" He hears a voice behind him, turning around fast to see Eidolon slowly land beside him
"Eidolon... Uh, well no. Sayin' like this sounds bad that I'm complaining..." Spider-man scratches the back of his head.
Eidolon chuckles "It's okay, I can understand your feelings... Like, if they have such crappy costumes, weird powers, and nonsense motivations... It's better that they don't even go outside playing as a villain, right? Just giving us extra work..."
"Yeah! Exactly that! You summarized it pretty well..." The web-slinger nods
"Let's be grateful that is not a World-ending Crisis every day."
"I can live without a World-ending Crisis..." Spider-man agrees easily
The two fall in a comfortable silence while the two heroes watch the city below them.
But Eidolon remembers a certain topic that he wants to make Peter aware of.
"So... How is going with Gwen?" He starts laying the groundwork
"What?! Ah yes, you know..." Spider-man was surprised at first before his brain caught up "Well, pretty normal I guess."
"Did you two do 'it'?" The white-haired hero asks with his voice full of innuendo
Spider-man splutters hearing that "Wha- That... That's personal!" He answers a little affronted
Eidolon raises his hand in surrender to placate the guy "Your reaction is enough of an answer... But I have a serious motive to breach this sensitive and intimate topic. Sorry." He finally decides to talk seriously
"...?"
"Did you use the 'pocket lab' that I gave you to study samples of your own body?" Eidolon asks
"er... No."
Eidolon sighs, he is a little disappointed but not surprised. He doesn't know if is some vestige of a "writer influence" dumbing people down. Like, why didn't Tony Stark give himself the Super Soldier Serum?
Or if the people here don't have his sense of urgency in growing stronger because they don't know the dangers out there.
But these guys really don't do everything to tap into their potential.
Even Thanos dissected his own mother to better understand his deviant physiology and consequently, he made enhancements to himself later.
"Spider, that's why I gave it to you in the first place... You need to know yourself better. What if your powers changed something about you and you're allergic to something fairly common now... And it can be used against you." He instructs "Doesn't spiders get 'drunk' on caffeine? You need to understand how far those changes affect you... Not only you, but it can also affect the people around you."
"...I see." Spider-man nods seriously "I haven't thought about that. Beyond some lack of control when I just got my powers, it only had good sides... Maybe there's some hidden downside too."
"Yes... By the way... Radioactive spider, right?" Eidolon gives him a sideglance. Almost reaching where he really wants to arrive
"...yes?"
"So... Are you sure that you aren't a little radioactive yourself? Like blood, saliva... sperm."
"Dude! No..." He denies easily "But seeing Eidolon's flat look he remembers that he truly doesn't know "I mean... I don't know. I hope not."
"Don't 'hope'... Check it. You could give cancer to your partner... It happens." Eidolon says, shocking the web-slinger
That's what he wanted to talk about. In a certain universe, Spider-man body is a little more radioactive than others and he slowly kills Mary Jane with his... radioactive sperm.
Hector's universe appears to be a mix of various media... MCU, X-Men Evolution, Movies from Fox, comics, Ultimate Universe...
Who knows what is mixed on this strange plate that is this Marvel Universe?
For all he knows, Wanda and Pietro are playing Alabama and the Pym is playing 40's household with his wife, Deadpool will go even crazier and try to kill everyone tomorrow and many other crazy things.
Some things are ridiculous, but it can be true here.
"..." Spider-man is still shell-shocked by the implications "I... I..."
"Okay, okay... Calm down, nothing happened yet. Go make the tests... If there's no problem, great! If there's one we have time to solve it."
"Yes, yes. I will do it!"
Now with this awkward talk of "No creampie, use a lead-laced rubber" out of the way Eidolon decides to joke a little to make the guy relax.
"Now, this is a good opportunity for you..." He smiles conspiratorily
"Opportunity?" Spider-man asks confused
"Yes... Listen to me, you can go to your girlfriend and say that there's a serious problem and you need a... 'helping hand'. For your guy's future. For Science!" Eidolon hooks his arms around the red-and-blue hero's shoulders
If he used X-ray vision, he would see the blush on Peter's face.
Spider-man literally jumps off the roof in embarrassment and web slings away.
"Haha. Why is so fun to mess with the guy?"
....
There's despair in the air.
A plane has been hijacked. A tense situation that is still fresh on the mind of the world after the 9/11 some years ago.
But the situation is different this time. The one who hijacked the plane is not a terrorist or a villain, it's the plane's own co-pilot.
*Bam* *Bam*
Bangs echo through the plane like the tick of a clock, increasing the tension. Murmurs and cries join the sound of the pilot trying to break into the cockpit creating a cacophony of terror.
"Open it!!" The Pilot shouts while trying to catch a breath after hitting the door with a hammer.
Unfortunately, as an irony of destiny, the door of the cockpit after the events of the 9/11 had been reinforced as a preemptive measure.
"We can talk about this though!! Don't do this!!" The pilot shouts, begging the co-pilot.
The intention of the criminal becomes clear after some time... He is not doing it for money or any benefit.
The nose of the plane is slightly inclined downwards... He wants to crash the plane. A suicide... But he is not happy about going alone.
"C'mon!!!! You don't want to do this!!" He continues to lead "There are kids here, GODDAMMIT!"
But the co-pilot remains unresponsive inside the cockpit. Even the call from the command tower is ignored.
"Oh god..."
"Please..."
"This is not happening."
People sob in fear, children cry feeling the situation, some look powerless to the ceiling, some are sending messages to their families...
"I don't want to die..."
"Please..."
"Anyone... Just... Argh..."
The ray of hope comes from a passenger who was lifeless looking outside the widow... Not a ray of hope per se, more like a Black Blur...
"It's Eidolon!!" The guy doesn't even think before shouting animatedly despite the situation.
And just like that, despair and fear are pushed away by relief and hope.
The dire situation is forgotten while people try to look outside to catch a glimpse of the hero. To confirm that he is really here. Maybe that's why he always announces himself...
But even better than hearing the "I am here" phrase, it's hearing the cockpit door unlocking and Eidolon calmly walking out of it.
With a nod and a "thank god" from the pilot, Eidolon lets the man walk past him to the cockpit while he turns to the now happy passengers.
"Have no fear... Whyyy...?" Eidolon points to a kid standing on her mother's lap while looking at him in awe.
"Because you're here!" The kid answers brightly with a laugh
"You're goddam right!" Eidolon confirms "Sorry, language..."
His relaxed and joking attitude infects everyone. People saggy in relief, hugging each other, clapping and cheering, saying that love him etc.
Eidolon goes back to the cockpit, seeing the pilot communicating with the control tower.
The co-pilot remains tied to his chair by some black bindings, unconscious. He probably has some mental illness and is depressed.
Eidolon gives him a disgusted look before turning to the pilot. It's not excusable, but he understands the guy needs help... He probably hates himself as much as everyone else on this plane hates him.
"So..." Eidolon starts
"He damaged the controls. I can only stabilize a little... An emergency landing is necessary." The pilot reports
Eidolon nods "The landing strip of the destination of this plane is free for the next minutes?" Eidolon asks the control tower.
"Eh... Yes? But there's a plane scheduled to land in 14 minutes." The control tower answers through the comms
"Hm... Okay. I will personally put the plane in a free hangar. Prepare a bus to take the passengers." He declares.
After a positive response, he goes back to the passengers.
"People... I have bad News and Good News." Eidolon says and some people tense "Okay, no bad news... I'm gonna take the plane to the airport so... The good news is that you guys are early more than one hour." Eidolon jokes to nervous laughs
"Anything goes man. Just want to touch the ground."
"I'm never flying a plane again..."
"I think my legs gave out."
Seeing that they can joke now, Eidolon chuckles before sinking to the ground.
In the next second, the passengers can see darkness enveloping the windows. Would be ominous if they don't know that is Eidolon's work.
But he is here and they know that they will arrive home safely, with a good story to tell and remember.
....
Later at night, Eidolon is balancing on one foot on top of the Eiffel Tower.
His En covers the whole city of Paris and can go even further. That's a ridiculous range. The biggest radius of a En in the HxH world is Pitou with 2km. And Hector can go even further.
Hector can cover whole cities with his aura, feeling everything like he is touching it with his skin. An excellent power for a hero, but...
"Disgusting...Ugh." He trembles. Feeling like you're touching everything can be unpleasant for obvious reasons "That's a lot of rats... And people having sex. The French are really horny, huh?" He says to himself
He stays where he is, without moving, but helping some people from a distance. Practicing with his powers and senses.
"You are really attracting attention..." Suddenly he hears a voice at his side.
Surprising even him that someone can sneak up so close without being noticed
"Ancient One..." He nods at the old man.
"Trying to fish something?" The Old man asks while standing on the air
He is referring to the fact Eidolon is like a beacon of vitality at the moment. Would not be estrange for some demon, sorcerer, or monster to appear to try to devour him or something else.
"Hm... Not really. Would make things easy if they're that stupid." He shakes his head "I'm getting used to feeling the surrounds without being overwhelmed." He says and instantly shuts down his aura.
He used En a lot in Wano, that's how he caught the CP-0 hidden there and kept tabs on everything. A very useful power to a guy protecting a "small" territory.
"Oh~ Good job in controlling your presence. I can barely feel you." Ancient One Strokes his goatee impressed.
He also gives Eidolon a look and a small smile for some reason, something that the black-clad hero didn't see.
' 'Barely', huh? Old monster' ' Eidolon thinks
"Thanks. I was practicing on it. To not let things leak, you know? I'm pretty confident people will have a hard time reading my existence and future now."
If he meets David Alleyne (Prodigy) and Danielle Moonstar (Mirage) again, he bets that their powers won't be capable of scrutinizing his mind(conscious) like before.
"I see, very good. I knew that you have the talent." The old sorcerer nods
"...You knew about my soul, right?" Eidolon sideglances him "That's why you said 'As expected' when I showed talent to magic."
He is talking about the fact his soul appears to be much stronger, refined, and resilient than others.
"Yes." The Ancient One shrugs, talking exactly like Hector. And without further elaboration, he disappears.
"...I'm gonna slap that bald head one day."
"Maybe." *Pah* The Ancient One reappears behind Eidolon and slaps the back of his head. Still using one-word answers exactly like him.
"..." Eidolon runs a hand through the back of his head, but when he turns around the Ancient One already disappeared again
"Fucking old people have no filters..." He grumbles while gritting his teeth.
He swears to himself to study magic harder to get back on the guy.
.....
In his Space Station, Hector casually makes his periodic check-ups on his projects and world affairs. He is in his standard civilian form but using his Eidolon suit because is comfortable.
"So the Russians are 'secretly' assigning their team, huh? I remember some of them..." he comments while checking the line-up of Russian equivalents of Avengers.
Like always, he hacks his brain into remembering their powers, backstories, and storylines that they will be involved in.
"I think that bear guy is a mutant..." He says while tapping on his holo-keyboard
He also keeps tabs on the internet, checking popular opinions on his, and on his fellow heroes, actions, rumors, silly discursions about power scaling, and even some people asking for help in many ways.
"Nigerian prince wants to give me money? If was a Wankandan prince, I would've believed in it..." He says sarcastically
"Senate talks a lot about me and the metas but decides nothing... Typical..."
Finally, a voice interrupts him "So you just stay here sitting on your ass while navigating on the internet... I thought the hero work would be more glamourous."
A head pops off his torso.
A young girl head, with dark skin and long black hair.
"I'm working Nemesis." Hector answers with a sigh
Then he tries to press her inside again.
Nemesis is a recently summoned Character by Hector. She has Dark Matter physiology and is planned to be the "A.I." of Hector's future Hellbat Armor Symbiotic armor.
Or Hell-Nemesis armor, like is called now.
He summoned her now to raise up the relationship loyalty to 10 before he can really need the armor.
She pops off his body again.
"C'mon~ Don't you have anything more... fun~ in mind to do now?" She says flirtatiously while removing herself completely from him.
In her adult form, which is suspiciously similar to Shego's body(Hector notices), she straddles him while hugging his neck and blowing on his ear
"..." Hector remains unfazed by her hoe tactics "If you didn't showed me your loli body first..." He says flatly while staring at the screen ahead without giving her an ounce of attention
"Mou~ I don't have a definitive form. I can be how whatever you want~" She continues.
To illustrate that she makes her breasts bigger. Her short black dress climbs up because it can't fit her body anymore. Her chocolate thick butt presses on his crotch and his face is between the two mountains of softness on her chest.
"..." He remains unfazed. "Go back inside, Nemesis."
This reminds him a little of his early days with Shego.
But Nemesis is even worse than Shego. She is a manipulative, sadistic, and mischievous girl. He will never give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
If things happen, and probably eventually will happen, will be on his terms.
She pouts adorably seeing him being so cold to her.
"Don't bother our Master, Nemesis," Cortana speaks a little harshly to the new girl.
'Is she a little jealous?' Hector muses on his mind 'Is she jealous that she shares my body with her now? Women are so complicated...'
"I was just playing a little, Cortana-senpai~ Making him relax, you know? Someone needs to be the fun one." Nemesis gives the wrist device on Hector's arm a smug smile
Cortana: (≖_≖ )
"You just arrived and already want to sit by the window?" Hector asks in a non-nonsense tone "Go back inside... Now." He says a little more coldly
Nemesis: ( ˘︹˘ ) "*Huff* Fine!"
Cortana: (っ^▿^)💨
'Maybe I will need to apply what I learned on those Bratty Corrections doujins on her...' Hector thinks half joking and half serious before going back to work.
Hector continues his work in peace, only with the occasional comments of his two freeloaders. He is almost calling the night to go study magic after checking for one last time his projects.
"Master... Check this..." Cortana attracts his attention to some viral videos
He looks " 'Diary 30: Eidolon is coming to school'?" He reads it with a frown, a tickle on the back of his mind trying to bring a memory to the surface. He reads the second video " 'Diary 31: Humiliation'?... !! Oh! Oh Hell naw!" He stands up instantly
"Master?"
"No, no, no, no..." He paces around before going back to research the boy's school "It's another one of the canon events! Like with Harambe..."
"What are you doing?" Cortana asks confused
"Avoiding the Dark Timeline." He answers with determination
.....
The next day
It's possible to see a car stopped in front of a school.
A boy hesitantly gets off it, keeping his head down all the way while he walks his path.
He can hear some snickers around him. At the moment, with his mood, any laugh that he hears he will think is directed at him.
He speeds his steps, just wanting to get over the day. Till the sounds around him change. Gone are the buzz of the crowd and some gasps are the only thing cutting the silence.
The boy finds it weird and finally takes his eyes off his shoes to look around, only to see people looking above, consequently making him follow their line of sight only to his vision be filled with a black figure that drops off slowly very close to him.
"Sorry for the delay... But Eidolon really came to school." The hero says while putting an arm over the student's shoulders, and naturally starts walking with him to the school.
...
Mary Jane P.O.V.
Okay, is Hector avoiding me?
I didn't want to think about it, but we really didn't talk about the night of Harry's party. We are back on being only friends? That's it? Everything that happened that night amounted to nothing?
I turn to see him in class... Look at him staring out of the window like he doesn't give a fuck.
Just because he is hot as fuck he thinks he can do anything, right? Jerk.
He looked back!
What a heck! Why did I avoid eye contact? I will turn again and stare at his soul!
And I do just that!
"..." Me and I stay in a stare contest for an unknown amount of time.
Did that guy doesn't need to blink?? Look at him smirking... Bastard... With his super white teeth and sharp jaw.
Seriously? Am I the only one seeing that he is super hot?? It's like there's a spell in everyone to not notice it. Only Liz noticed it too after getting close.
And that slut start annoying him.
Apparently, our stare contest was destined to end in my defeat because I was the one looking to the back, and the teacher smacked my head with his papers.
Seeing him chuckle made me notice that he predicted that.
I'm saying, that guy has a bad personality...
.....
See? Bad personality...
I approach him talking with Peter, Ned, and Gwen by the lockers. And by the way, he is smirking, he is making fun of Peter in some way.
I arrive at his side and greet them "Hey, guys. What is so funny?" I ask with a smile, touching Hector's side with my shoulder.
Now that I know him better, I can see him tensing a little. Seriously, what's going on?
"Nothing. Just Peter having zero confidence in himself and fanboying over Richards and Stark." Hector answers casually
I can imagine that.
We continue to talk for a little while, the other three talking about internships... Gwen and her shaky time on Oscorp, with all that Green Goblin thing. Apparently, the group that she is part of remains unaffected for now. But nothing is certain.
Ned and his recent internship and Peter trying for Stark and Baxter, hence the initial conversation.
Peter, Ned, and Gwen say goodbye to us and we are finally alone.
"Wanna a ride home?" He asks casually
"Yes, Thank you." Finally! Not running away anymore, huh?
This time he came on his car, normally he uses his bike, so I can stare at his profile while he drives in silence.
Is his skin even better now? Seriously, I will ask about his skincare routine. And if he says "water and soap" again I will rage.
He eventually stops on an empty street, a little far away from my home, and turns to me.
"Well... We need to talk." He says
"Really?" I say sarcastically.
"..." He gives me a deadpan stare as answer
Okay, calm down MJ. He is not your boyfriend yet.
"..."
"..."
Hector looks at me and I look at him.
"Well..." I nudge
"...I sincerely don't know how to start." He admits with a sigh "I mean... What are we even?"
"...good question."
He turns again to look at the front, looking away from me "Let's start with the end then... I think it's for the better that we not see each other." He finally says.
"..." Okay... That hurt more than I expected "W-why?" Not my voice cracking
"..." He gives me a gentle and apologetic look. He noticed. "As much as cliche will sound... But it's not you, it's me." He says with a half-wry smile.
Despite myself, I chuckle a little. "So what is your problem, Hector?" I say sarcastically, taking the opportunity to discreetly wipe off the tears accumulating in my eyes.
"..." I think he noticed again, by his frown "I like you, Mary Jane Watson. I really do. Seriously... I'm surprised myself that I like you."
This would make me squeal with joy some minutes ago "...Buuut?"
"...But...I think we're in different places and we will never align down the line." He says seriously
"Whoa... That's a powerful statement."
"Yeah... And you don't know how much it saddens me." He reaches for my face, his thumb caressing my cheek "Our 'now', that night, was such a beautiful, but unfortunately temporary, coincidence. Like an astronomical event... I enjoyed every second of it."
"..." Fuck this guy! He is smooth... My heart just skipped a beat! I just want to kiss him and forget about this talk.
"But was bound to end... After the summer vacation, I will start college. I will take a more active role in managing my family business. My time will be so limited! I can't give you what you expect and deserve... Hence why we are in different places."
"..."
"And down the line..." he sighs "You will seek your actress career, maybe travel to L.A... We are on different paths. And the bifurcation came too early."
Okay, I get what he is saying.
We really don't have a lot in common. And he is already going to be an adult, full of responsabilities and all that, while I... I'm this dumb high school girl.
"Don't cry..." I hear him say softly
"I'm not..." I sniff to swallow the tears "Can't we at least try?" I ask weakly, taking his hand into mine.
Damn, I sound so desperate... So weak... That's not what I expected of myself. But... But... I don't want to lose him... He is such a great guy! We hit off so well. He is the first that made me feel these things.
"..." He pauses.
There's something in his eyes... Some conflict maybe, I think I can guess is it by the way he tightens his jaw.
"I'm also not being completely honest with you..." He says after some time
"What do you mean?"
"There's..." It's hard for him to say.
My brain surprises me by guessing fast and my mouth finishes his phrase.
"...another." I say in realization and take my hand off his almost like is burning
"...yes." He admits with a serious nod
"...haha. I see. I see." I laugh for some reason and turn away from him
"Before your mind goes to dark places. I did not hide it from you... Like you, it was not official during Harry's party." He turns me away gently and I don't resist "And is not something that you bring up in that situation..."
Okay. I can be reasonable and understand. It's not like we are a thing. He has no obligation to tell me anything.
" 'It was not'... So it's official now?" I ask catching the deep meaning of his words
"Let's say I have been given an ultimatum..." He nods slowly
"So the... other..." I spat "Made you choose and you choose her." Oh god, I'm going to cry hard. Hold up, MJ.
"No!" He denies fast "In truth, it's much weirder than you think..." He looks away with a strange face
He turns to me again "She kind of accepted that I... double timed..." I had never seen him so unsure in saying something
"What??"
"She knows about you too and she doesn't care. I mean, you too will never meet probably... She is older." He tries to explain
Is he being groomed? Sincerely, I can't imagine it.
"So she accepted that you had side chicks??" I ask in disbelief
"There's no side chicks. Everyone would be treated the same." He says more sure of himself now.
"So you would have two girlfriends? Or not dating exclusively?? That's ridiculous!"
"Finally! That's the normal reaction!" He, for some reason, sighs in relief and sits straight in his seat after hearing my words.
"..."
"So technically she accepted sharing. I could've kept you in the dark, but it would not sit well with me."
"Thank you? I guess..." I say unimpressed.
I mean, it's the bare minimum. But on the other hand, I know he is better than most at coming clean... And again, he owes me nothing.
I'm trying to stop being an entitled bitch.
But seriously, is he being groomed? I think this older woman, or whatever, accepted it because she knew other women would hardly accept it. So she would be the one left. Acting like she is not being forceful, but in truth is snaring him...
What a manipulative bitch!
Also... Is Hector worth all of it?
I look at him again... Okay, he is a catch. I can see how some wouldn't mind being side chicks...
But is not for me... I think...
"Unless you want the same deal too?" Hector turns to me and asks with a raised eyebrow
"What?" Is he...
"Sorry, but I have to ask... I will regret not asking... But would you like to continue this... this relationship knowing that I'm not dating exclusively?"
"..." He is really doing it. He is fucking serious while asking it. "Are you serious?" I need to make sure
He sighs "As I said, I need to ask... Even if I can guess the answer." He looks away for an instant before turning to me again and taking my hand between his "Do you want to continue to see where this goes? Not thinking much about how it ends... Enjoying the ride. Enjoying each other."
"..." And I fucking hate that I'm considering it. This guy is so... UGH.
I take my hand trapped between his two bigger ones "And what would it entail, Hector? We're gonna be sex friends? Each other booty calls? We are gonna date while also being allowed to see other people? An open relationship?"
He winces a little at my words. Giving me a little satisfaction "Yeah... About that... It would be more like... I'm the one that can see other people while you... can't..." He says slowly, his facial expression like he waiting for an explosion.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...are you serious?" Now I'm in disbelief.
"Yeah... But hear me out, it's not as bad as it looks."
"Ah really?? Because to me it looks really bad! Fucking bad!! Like you want a harem or something!!" I finally explode
"..."
"So what? I would be your obedient little girlfriend while you have other girlfriends too??" I cross my arms and frown at him hard
"Okay... I can understand your anger. But it's not like I'm forcing you into anything, or that was cheating on you for months, or asking you to marry me while I have other wives... So calm down. You can be angry by my suggestion, but you're blowing things off proportion a little." He says seriously
"..." He has a point... I can't help but deflate a little.
"The thing is... This will sound a little narcissistic, but I believe that I could do better as... boyfriend than any other. With the exception of not having much time." He says
"..." I keep my arms crossed and wait for him to present his case
"I like you and I know you like me."
"..."
"We're gonna continue to see each other, going out and all that... As an experiment. I'm not trapping you. If you want to leave it at any time, you can do it. If you want to go for another, better guy. You can do it. Just inform me before you do anything..."
"...why?"
"Because would be cheating..."
"Look at you!! So it would be cheating if I do that, but not if you do that!!" I point at him. Is this guy not listening to himself?
"...yes." He nods "That's why I'm presenting this previous agreement! If you don't want to, don't do it! Why are you so angry?? I'm presenting a solution where all parts can be happy!" He says in genuine exasperation
"That you can be happy!! You're asking for permission to cheat!!"
"No. There's no main girl or side girl... There's no affair if all relationships are serious to me. Believe in me that I would treat you exactly as I would treat a girlfriend, except..."
"You would be fucking other people and I can't do the same." I say sarcastically
This makes him give a tired sigh "So you want to fuck multiple dudes? That's it??" He somewhat snaps at me
"...no."
"It's not about sex to me, Mary Jane. If it was, I would press it on the party." He looks offended now.
"..." That's true, I guess.
"I know that it sounds like it... Most people would assume that a guy wants multiple girls to be his booty calls or whatever. But I'm not like that... Sex is easy for me to acquire. I want the connection... Our connection was such a beautiful accident. I simply don't want to give up on it." He sits tired on his seat and rants a little.
"..."
"I like you all, and I can't choose." He sighs "And the other didn't make me choose... So I thought... I thought... *Haah* Forget about it. You're absolutely right." He looks a little defeated, looking away.
He continues "I thought we could have a high school romance... An isolated high school romance... Where my...'adult' life wouldn't interfere. Just us... Being teenagers. Nothing a lot about consequences, learning from each other, making some memories... Good and bad. And taking the experience to the rest of our lives." He confess
He turns to me and gives me a wry, but relaxed smile "I thought I at least could've been honest and upfront on that... But is strange to be honest while doing something wrong... Not that I think this is wrong. But let's say, for convenience sake, that what is not socially accepted is wrong." He shrugs.
"..." Wait... That's it?
Are we over?
He starts the engine of the car and starts driving me to my home.
"Yes... It would be completely unfair to you... I simply thought that I could've made up for it by being a very good boyfriend. Sorry." He says without even looking at me. "Sorry that I'm a hypocrite... But I can't accept you with other men to level the playfield. The moment you kissed or did anything with other men, our relationship would be over forever. "
He continues while driving and looking at the road "Because if I did a good job you wouldn't feel the need, right? Or you would be a cheating woman." He chuckles mirthlessly. I would be more offended if I'm not shocked "The two options are good enough reasons to end the relationship. Yes, hypocrite. But that's how I think... those are my terms."
"It's non-negotiable. No girl of mine can have side men. I will not force you on it... I will not watch over you to make sure you're not cheating. But I would know. I would know and then is over... I will simply walk away from your life. No drama. No fight. Nothing." He concludes and remains silent for the rest of the ride
"..." I feel... I feel like I lost... For some reason.
I didn't even give him an answer.
But I fought so hard against it... What did I expect?
"And here we are..." He says while stopping in front of my house
"..." I didn't get out
But Hector doesn't force me either. He simply continues to stare at me with a gentle smile.
"You're not wrong, MJ1." He goes back to that nickname "Like I said... The problem is all on me." He sighs and takes my hand again.
I watch him bring it to his lips and kiss my knuckles.
I'm gonna cry... This is really happening... It's over. Dead in the crib... I wanted to... I wanted more with him.
"You surprised me with how of a good woman you are..." He caresses the place he kissed with his thumb "Don't change. Again, you're not wrong." He looks at me again with a sad smile.
I really want to simply kiss him and forget this conversation ever existed.
Just keep me in the dark like any other asshole, you asshole.
"One day you will find someone that will see exactly what I see... And he will be capable of giving you his 100%" He smiles sadly again "It's simply... a pity."
Don't act nice to me, jerk. It's making it hard for me to hate you!
Like a robot, I leave his car and walk to my home.
That's it, Mary Jane. Your taste in men is as horrible as your mother's. You need to fall for the guy that can't keep on his pants, huh?
And you swore to never cry because of men too... Idiot...
...
Third Person P.O.V.
Super-senses are not as great to have as would people think. Half of the time you become aware of things that would be better to remain unknown...
Like the crying of the girl you like because of you.
Hector sighs for like a hundred times already. Tightening his grip on the wheel, in a rare show of control loss he really breaks and rips off it from the panel while hearing Mary Jane's muffled sobs in her room.
He sighs again...
He can't even "unhear" it... His senses unconsciously focus on her. Always keeping him painfully aware of her state.
With [Crazy Diamond]'s power, he repairs the broken wheel and continues to drive in silence. His jaw is tight while he unblinkingly stares at the road.
'This ending surprised no one, Hector. Why are you like that?' He admonishes himself
"You could've manipulated her a little." Nemesis talks to me "Made her fall harder for you. To the point where she would accept that you have a harem."
"..."
"You made the right call, Master." Cortana says her piece "I know you... It's for the best that you have a clear conscience. You would not be happy or satisfied otherwise."
"...thank you. I need to live for my self-proclaimed title of 'Honest Scum'" He jokes mirthlessly
"You are so complicated..." Nemesis rolls her eyes "Just do what you want."
"It's called basic decency." I answer equally sarcastically to her " My grandma always said that 'your rights end where the other rights start'. My desires and wants can't trample over other people."
"Humans trample over others all the time... You're superior to them. That's YOUR RIGHT. What matters that you play with their feelings a little?" She argues back
"Matters to me..."
....
Hector P.O.V.
What is the best way to solve problems of the heart? To a man... is to drown yourself in some work.
That's why I'm now in my main hospital releasing my frustration on my old rival... Paperwork.
"$1.200,00 for an ambulance ride?? This health system is a fucking joke..." I throw the notes on my table.
Why? Did they catch living dinosaurs to extract the oil and make gas?? Is the driver a fucking C.I.A. agent?
Fucking mafia... That's what this is. And my Uncle was all for it.
And I can't take it off my head cancer is the century scam. I'm not sure about my other world, but I think people keep cancer as it this so hard and expensive to deal disease on purpose.
Are you saying no one can remove cells and replenish them easily here? In the world where the creator of the Super Soldier Serum used convenient Vita Rays to juice a guy?
My ass... Look at those bills. The guy is treated for cancer and has a fucking lifetime debt.
"Let me extend the payment date without fees..." I type on my computer.
I'm slowly introducing new policies to help the people. Not very popular with the board... But fuck it. All for the better that they're jumping off and I'm buying all the shares of my hospitals back.
When I have 100% I will finally introduce revolutionary and cheap methods of treatment...
Yes, They will probably try to kill me. The Pharmaceutical Companies and all that. Hmm, maybe I should talk with Emma Frost as Hector.
Anyway, I'm fucking Eidolon. They can't kill me. And this will be years from now... I have to prepare.
*Haah* And this is another frustrating thing.
I have so much to give to the world... healing chambers, protestic cybernetics, that robotic surgery machine... Doctors will be capable of operating in micro proportions with them. The VR goggles that can be used to transmit images direct to the brain, allowing blind people to see and sooo muuuch more.
And here I am.
Can't introduce fucking anything.
If I do that... Well, the military is only the first that will knock on my door.
I need some political power too. I need to use the college to go out as a genius in this medical field too.
Okay, Hector. Calm down. I think I'm projecting my bad mood on this.
I sigh again...
Okay, in two or three years you will be capable of making a change in the whole world, Hector.
For now... Let's lower some bills.
.....
Third Person P.O.V.
New York
In the middle of the day, two women are making smacking sounds against each other.
She-hulk and Titania fight through the streets. All sorts of moves are displayed while one tries to get the Upper hand over the other, small shockwaves echo with each crash.
"Bitch, can you get off my hair??" She-hulk shouts while throwing Titania over her shoulder
"No, till I paint the street green with your face!!" Titania answers while trying to bring She-hulk in a submission.
Around them, after the people clear the area to a somewhat safe space they stop to watch the fight. Typical modern behavior is where they film and watch it in a circle.
At least they are taking cover, somewhat...
During the fight, people notice Eidolon himself slowly floating down to the top of a car. Watching the dispute with his arms crossed under his mantle.
His sheer presence is enough to silence everyone.
"..." She-hulk and Titania pause mid-fight.
The two looked at him from the ground.
"Please don't mind me... Continue." Eidolon gestures calmly "Unless you want my help, Ms. Walters."
Jennifer grins a thim and *Boom* punches Titania away, taking advantage of her distraction.
"I got this!" She says to him and jumps on the other big woman to resume the fight.
"Be mindful of the people..." It's Eidolon's last words to them before he continues to watch the fight in silence.
"..."
The moos is a little strange. The seriousness of the situation is forgotten because of him. Like the serious fight becomes a spar.
"So... Are you not gonna stop them?" A civilian woman asks Eidolon in an unsure voice
"You never separate a women's fight... It's on the Men(Bro) Code." Eidolon answers as a matter of fact.
"..."
"It's true tho." A guy says
"I never heard of the code before, but I know about what he is talkin' about." Another confirms
"It's written in our subconscious." Another nods
"..."
Eidolon chuckles a little "Jokes aside... She-hulk got it. No need for me to interfere. This is also a good learning experience. The world can't depend solely on me."
He explains more seriously "I appeared so that you guys can feel safe and don't worry, I will fix anything they destroy."
Even if he doesn't completely trust the heroes. He still can't deny that they will be his allies if a huge crisis appears. He can't coddle them too much.
And yes, She-hulk really got this. She is in a league apart of Titania. The only limitation is her inexperience and her own mental blocks that don't allow her to access her full strength.
Maybe she is afraid of hurting the people around her, or even Titania. Maybe she is not even aware of that hidden strength. Who knows...
But now, with Eidolon's presence, she relaxed a little and is letting go. Completely dominating the fight against her opponent.
The black-clad hero's presence is also a constant weight on Titania, putting an invisible pressure on her mind.
Suddenly Titania snaps "FUCK IT! I'm gonna take you down with me!!" She shouts and savagely punches She-hulk in the face, making the green amazonness strumble back.
"Oh~ I felt that..." She-hulk holds her cheek, a savage grin on her face, and parts to the counter-attack.
People are usually afraid of getting hit, getting hurt... It's one of the first lessons in martial arts. To know how to get hit and to push forward despite that. To Not allow your battle prowess to diminish because of the pain. Let the adrenaline take over.
Jennifer Walter, the former mild-mannered lawyer is finally experimenting it first-hand. She punches Titania in the guts so hard that the muscular redhead is lifted from the ground a meter and doubles over. Almost falling on her knees to the ground.
She-hulk, from inexperience, doesn't take the opportunity, and Titania shoots from her position to crash with the green woman's stomach, holding her waist and carrying her to crash into any obstacle.
And that's where she messed up...
Her move of carrying She-hulk to beat her in any place would take the two to a small shop with people inside.
Before they can even leave the street to cross the sidewalk, they are suddenly stopped by an irresistible force.
She-hulk is suddenly out of Titania's grasp, and Eidolon is between the two while facing the villain.
"Well... It seems this fight ends here. Good job, She-hulk." He says flatly. His tone leaves nothing to the discussion.
"..." Titania almost hyperventilates while being stared at by him.
She discovered now that seeing him in vídeos and seeing him personally are two entirely different things. In her proud brain, she still thought that she was on the same level as him.
But now, even if she is taller than him (As tall as Thor, Eidolon notices), she feels like he is much larger than her.
"You can turn yourself in now." Eidolons state while giving her an uninterested look.
Titania's fist clenches, her body tense, while he stares at him.
To her credit, she eventually got over his pressure and stepped up to attack.
"I will at least take a piece of you with me!!" She barks while going for a punch
"..." Eidolon looks at her slow movement with contempt. Brutes... So easy.
And that's also where people can clearly see the difference between Eidolon and other heroes like She-hulk.
To the bystanders, She-hulk and Titania's fight was impressive. Fast and strong blows that could dislocate the air. It's not for nothing that so many stay behind to watch the deadly, but mesmerizing, show.
But now they see that compared to Eidolon it's like a drunken bar fight compared to a master.
Eidolon doesn't even put a stance...
Titania steps forward to give him a right hook with all her body weight.
Eidolon casually lifts his foot and puts it beneath Titania's foot that is stepping forward, in a smooth motion on her heel he makes her step too much. Forcing her heel to slide on the concrete, forcing her to open in a split and miss the punch by a great margin.
In the next instant, he punches her throat with the knuckles on his fingers, and then, with the same knuckles, he "slaps" her chin, making her see stars by shaking her brain.
It's over just with that.
Three moves.
His hands barely left his mantle and he struck with incredible precision. Anyone can see how easily it was and how contemptuously he did that. Like an adult playing with a kid.
It could even be considered beautiful, the flawless execution.
Some people even clapped.
"Dude... You're making me look bad." She-hulk jokes behind him
"You did most of the work." He says humbly.
She only rolls her eyes at him.
"By the way, why are you holding her like that?" She-hulk asks
After striking her chin, Eidolon grasped her jaw/neck and is holding her face up.
"To allow the passage of air. I healed her too." He says while holding the unconscious woman firmly
"I see... You're the pro here." She-hulk concedes "And that throat punch was really necessary? My own throat hurt only by seeing it..." She massages her own neck to illustrate that
Eidolon rolls her eyes "I took her down fast and efficiently... If I beat her more, people would say that I enjoy beating up women. If I do it efficiently, I'm too harsh... There's no winning with you guys."
"So you finally figured it out!" She laughs and slaps his back amicably
He notices that this time, she is not sending him sliding on the ground. So she has a better control over her strength.
The two talk a little about how the situation reached this point. Apparently, Titania doesn't like that She-hulk is stronger than her.
Something about her feats of being a strong woman being offuscated by the appearance of the female Hulk. Very childish...
"Our strength attracts challenge... But is not your fault." Eidolon says to her
"Yeah, I know... She is crazy." Jennifer agrees with a sigh, still feeling a little guilty over her problems affecting other people.
At some point, someone interrupts their talking by shouting from the crowd
"Choke me too, Daddy~!"
"..." Eidolon pauses and almost throws Titania on the ground.
"..." Jennifer stared at him, her lips trembling before she lost the fight with her laugh "Hahahahaha! So you are also catcalled!"
"Yeah... It comes from the profession. Using tight clothes does that. But I even use a mantle over it..." He says, making her laugh even harder "Pro Tip: Don't search your name online."
This makes her stop laughing "Too late..." She deadpans
Eidolon visibly jokingly winces "The fanarts?"
"The fanarts too." She confirms "Like... With my cousin??? People!" She says in disbelief
Eidolon chuckles while shaking his head "Anything that can relate is an excuse for a... 'ship'. You haven't heard about me and Thor after our fight?" He raises an eyebrow.
She boisterous laugh at that.
"You laugh now... Don't Forget that you just fought an equally fit and muscular woman..." Eidolon says flatly
"..." This makes her shut up quickly again
"Wanna bet with of the two of you will be given a dick by the artists?" He twists the knife deeper
"..." No one thought that would be possible for a green-skinned person to pale before now "I'm a lawyer. I will sue the assholes." She clenches her fist, half-joking and half-serious.
The two continue to engage in the talk while waiting for the police to take Titania. Eidolon asks how she is acclimating herself to the changes, offering another lesson and spar, Jennifer flirting with him and asking out.
"I could pay you some drink as thanks..." She grabs his shoulder and wiggles her eyebrows at him
"Careful... EidolonxShe-hulk could become a thing on the cosplay porn tag." He deadpans, making her laugh again
Then Eidolon suddenly turns his head fast to look at the sky.
"What's wrong?" She-hulk asks
In the next second a multicolored light crosses the clouds and disappears between the skyscrapers very far away from them.
"A intergalatic visit..." He says before saying goodbye and flying away.
....
The multicolored beam of light hits the ground of a park.
The people around it ran away in panic, but still kept an eye on it.
The beam of light finally ends, leaving the ground scarred with some circular inscriptions and a single man standing in the Middle.
A sonic boom is heard not long after and Eidolon lands close to the circle.
"Eidolon!!" A voice excitedly calls
"Thor, you son of... Odin!" The two approach each other
Thor and Eidolon stand in front of each other and they crash in a handshake that creates a shockwave, pushing leaves and trees away.
*PAH*
They boisterously laugh afterward.
.....
"I'm telling you, my friend. It was a huge mess. Jörmungandr poison on Yggdrasil made it practically unusable. I needed to be sent personally by my Father to all corners of the Nine Realms to keep things peaceful. Mediate conflicts, defeat rebels, capture criminals..." Thor says while gobbling some food.
The two heroes are now in an open restaurant, eating at a table on the sidewalk. Obviously attracting a lot of attention from the bystanders.
And the waitress freaking out was a little funny to the two.
"Sounds rough..." Eidolon comments while reclining on the back legs of his chair.
He is not eating anything while Thor enjoys his banquet.
"I missed Midgard food!" The Asgardian exclaims
"Heh~ Does booze and cooked boar lose the appeal?"
"Never!! But I can't deny that you guys advanced a lot on the food aspect!" Thor says while filling his face with junk food.
"Now... Do you visit here means business?" Eidolon has to ask
"More or less... In the confusion, an unknown number of criminals and dangerous people fled to unknown parts of the Nine Realms. My Father suspects that some are Hidden here." Thor confesses, with a serious face
"That can be a problem... Can't Heimdall see them?" Eidolon asks with an equally serious face
Thor shrugs "Heimdall abilities are well-known so..."
"...would not be weird for people to create counter-measures." Eidolon completes with a sigh. "So your Father sent you here as our guardian?"
"Yes, things are fairly peaceful now in the rest of the Nine Realms."
'It's also a reward then... A vacation.' Eidolon deduces on his mind. Less worried now.
The fugitives must be some chumps
But he made a mental note to check with the Ancient One later.
Suddenly a black car aggressively stops close to them and Black Widow gets out of it.
"Hey boys, what's up?" She greets them cheerfully
"Black Widow! Sit with us." Thor greets equally excitedly in seeing a "companion of arms" again
"Black Widow..." Eidolon nods at her calmly "You're very blatant to a spy. Maybe you're losing your touch..." He comments about her arrival
"..." She narrows her eyes at him and kicks his chair away.
If there was any other person in his place, having the chair kicked while reclining yourself would make him fall embarrassingly.
"..." But Eidolon remains locked in place. Floating. "I know that destroying people's proprieties is an Avenger thing, but please control yourself a little more." Eidolon mocks with a flat tone while bringing the chair back telekinetically.
"Ass..." She rolls her eyes at him before sitting in a chair
"Eh... Did you two have some bad blood?" Thor asks while awkwardly looking between them
"Nah." Eidolon answers "I'm simply paying back from her annoyance in always trying to take samples of my DNA, figure out my identity, attract me to some problematic terrorist situation etc, etc, etc."
Natasha huffs "Give me a break... It's my job."
"And that's the only reason I didn't hold it against you personally." Eidolon points at her "But you can't blame me for annoying you too."
"Fair enough." She shrugs "But things would be simple if you are willing to work with us more actively... I can pay you a drink now." She offers
"So that you can try to take my saliva? No, thanks." He replies with a done tone of voice "And no. I have my own group."
"So paranoic~ You and Fury would be best friends, or would try to kill each other." She says merrily
"Isn't trying to kill each other how the best friendships start and are strengthened? Look at me and Thor." The three share a laugh over it
"But c'mon~ Why are you resistant against it? Come to the cool club, we have Thor!" Natasha says pointing to the god stuffing himself in more human food.
"That will be debatable after I tell him what you guys did with his girlfriend." Eidolon's eyes close in malicious crescentes.
"Jane? What did you guys do?" Thor pauses and slowly turns to Natasha
"We put her under surveillance..." Natasha answers slowly
"Cameras on the bathroom..." Eidolon adds with a smirk
Thor's eyebrows shot to his hairline in disbelief and anger.
"Fury did it!" Natasha throws her boss under the bus immediately "And to be fair, was a team of women only that are watching her." She adds
"..." Thor looks at Eidolon and he nods "Don't worry, I took the cameras away. Now they only watch her street."
Thor calms down, but still appears annoyed.
"It was for her protection..." Natasha tries to add
"Like with Steve?" Eidolon asks with another malicious smile
"...many people want a piece of Captain America. We are also helping him acclimate himself to the new age." Natasha argues
"Putting the niece of the woman he loved as his neighbor is a good way to... 'acclimate' someone, I bet." Eidolon comments while acting nonchalant
Thor gives Natasha a look "Dick move..." Even he recognizes it
"...How do you know that?" She can't help but ask. The guy is too prepared.
"..." He gives her a look
"All right, forget that I asked..." She throws her hands in the air and reclines back on her seat " 'You're Eidolon'. Bleh!" She says with a deep tone of voice to mock his way of talking
He chuckles at her annoyed act "By the way, if you didn't tell, Steve. I will tell." He gives her na ultimatum
"...I will tell fury." She relents "In truth, I also didn't like it very much." She sighs "It was really a dick move. With Hidden intentions."
The two keep their silence till a turbine sound reaches their ear.
Iron Man suddenly drops from the sky and straightens himself while retracting his helmet
"Why didn't you guys call me??" He asks while unceremoniously sitting at their table "Chef! Shawarma, please! To everyone!"
.....
On an unsuspecting day, Hector took a decision.
In a random hospital in Europe, Eidolon walks inside like it's normal for a 6'4'' hero clad in black to be there.
...
"Are you sure about this?" Earlier Helena asks Hector while he uncharacteristic puts on his hero clothes slowly
"I'm prepared..." He answers
.....
"Excuse me... Can you point me to the Pediatric Section?" Eidolon asks softly
The receptionist, distractedly, looks up to answer before pausing in shock. Only after some minutes she shakily points to a plaque signalling the floor.
"Thank you." He nods and walks away.
Everyone's eyes following him
...
"You are doing more than necessary already. You know how they will react eventually." Helena continues
"I know..."
...
"Hello there~" Eidolon smiles while walking in the Pediatric Oncology section.
The kids excitedly ran to him, the ones that could
"Hehe~ So you guys know me? I'm flattered." He says "I came here to visit my fellow heroes."
...
"People will never be satisfied..." Helena says
"You're right."
...
Eidolon goes to each kid. To each room.
Talking with them. Putting his palm over them...
And giving them a new chance of life.
He does this in many hospitals around the world.
.....
"They will resist..." Helena argues
"I'm more stubborn than them."
.....
"I understand that you don't trust me, but this can be her last chance...." Eidolon says softly to a couple shielding their daughter from him
"I will not let you touch her! I don't know what you will do to her!" The Father says accusingly, while the wife is behind him
"Sir, I'm a busy man... I don't have the time and energy to save everyone. This could be the last time that I will be in this hospital."
"I will not trust you with her life!" They look somewhat religious
"..." Eidolon bows his head "I'm begging you. For her sake..."
"..!"
The mother eventually nudges her husband's sleeve "Babe... Please... We have nothing else..."
The two are on the verge of crying. The battle between their beliefs and the hope blooming in their chest is fierce.
The husband looks at Eidolon bowing his head to them.
They open the way
.....
"You are giving them fuel to criticize you." Helena sighs "A weakness to them to explore. This is not like you..."
"I have grown... I'm strong. Eidolon can take whatever they throw at him."
.....
Sitting on a playground area with recently healed children, Eidolon let the girls braid his now ridiculous long hair, while he tells some stories using holograms.
"So Darth Vader walked into the temple..."
"Eidolon what type of story you're told them?" A nurse raises her eyebrow at him
"Eh... About the younglings..."
"Eidolon?!?"
"Wait... Did you hear it?" The hero suddenly stops and moves his head like he is hearing from far away "Feminine bathroom on the second floor..." He says with urgency and disappears in a blur.
The nurse calls other nurses and other doctors in a panic.
...
"..." Helena doesn't have anything more to say
"Thank you for trying to convince me against it for my sake, Helena. I appreciate it..." Hector says softly
"..."
"I'm an overthinker... But sometimes is better to be like those dumb main characters and simplify things..." He continues and stands up to look at her. "Obviously, there will be a lot of repercussions, but..."
On his face, was the biggest and brightest smile that she had seen on him.
Not a smirk. A genuine smile.
"..." She is taken off her loop by the sight
"Saving kids is not wrong."
....
The doctors and nurses walked into the bathroom to see Eidolon holding a small baby in his arms.
A woman is crying on the ground hysterically. Trash, blood and water are everywhere.
From the mess, the awful situation came to light...
A mother tried to flush her baby on the toilet. After being unsuccessful, it tried to throw the baby in the trash.
Eidolon feels unspeakable anger, but nothing of it is shown on his face while he cleans the baby with his powers.
"All right, all right... You survived. You're so strong, I'm so proud of you." He says while balancing the baby gently "Don't worry..."
"...I'm here."
...
.....
A.N.: IMPORTANT NOTE, PLEASE READ
Hello there
(Now that we are not in a pirate world anymore, I will stop using the Ahoy)
I have some news, but first about the chapter...
Now we can see the effect that the One Piece world, and being a father, have on our MC.
Before the travel, the guy was in his darkest moment. His revenge, seeing the evil of the world, doubting if is really worth it...
He decided to not be a pussy and stick around. Push forward even though all the shit. Despite the world and himself screaming that would be better to simply give up or go in his villain arc.
Well, he was rewarded with good experiences thanks to that.
He is more optimistic now and willing to take the first steps forward in making changes. A leap of faith... Trying to trust the world to appreciate his efforts and learn with him.
We saw parallels too of his actions as Eidolon. But some wholesome stuff instead of only evil...
And now I ask you... Is it a coincidence that the wholesome stuff and the nice people appeared to him now?
The thing is that good in the world always existed, but he was only seeing the bad stuff because he was blinding himself of it.
Making himself a hero that cleans the shit of humanity. Obviously, he will get dirty.
But he learned in the One Piece world to adopt a positive outlook in life, maybe an even simplistic way to see life.
I think that is the most important lesson to learn with One Piece... Your will and intentions mold you and the world around you.
And if you have enough will you can change your life and the life of the people around you. That and strength. Strength can determine how far your positive influence can go.
But mainly, change always starts from inside yourself.
Maybe that was the problem with Batman... He allowed himself to be "contaminated" by the gloominess of Gotham and his trauma.
He fights gloominess with gloominess.
A reactive solution that will not change anything.
Superman on the other side... He can hear everything around the world. So don't you guys think that he is exposed to much more shit of humanity than Batman??
But he didn't allow it to taint him. He continues helping people and trying to inspire them. His alien status stops him from interfering too much(maybe from the best).
But he is holding the things to humanity, buying time for humanity to learn and improve.
Hector is trying to be the best of both worlds. A little of Batman and Superman... after he tilted more to the dark side, now he finally balanced himself thanks to the travel.
A hero who can make people feel at ease and safe; and a hero that can scare the villains so much that they tremble in his presence.
His good side inspires people to follow in his footsteps and be good too... and his dark side is a scary enough deterrent to stop bad acts around the world.
Let's see how things will unfold now. Must be full of challenges trying to be a good guy... we know that. He knows that. But he will do it nonetheless.
An example of this mindset is the unexpectable harem. From an outside perspective is a silly and indecent thing... But Hector takes it seriously. So if Hector treats it seriously. If that is his attitude. So the harem is a serious thing. People can criticize, but what matter is what comes from him.
This also go with dreams... people can laugh at our silly dreams(One Piece world again). But if you take it seriously. It's serious! Never let anyone say otherwise.
Till this day, some people treat games and animes as silly and childish things. But the people that work on it, take it seriously... It's a strong industry. Moving a lot of money. NO outside can laugh of the efforts of the people that work on it.
This is also something that we can apply in our daily lives, my friends. I already talked about that.
Your positive attitude has the power to change the world around you and your life too.
This reminds me that one time was drenched wet by a car. Haha. Literally exactly like in those movie scenes to show how crappy your day is going. I've never seen that happening in rea life.
And I laughed. I was in such a good mood that day, I laughed hard and gave the car a thumbs up sarcastically. Some people close laughed at me, but seeing I did not take it seriously laughed with me even harder. Some people in a bar nearby offered me a towel and I continued with my life.
Now this is a funny memory, instead of an unlucky crappy moment in my life. And it changed because of my attitude at the time.
Let's take advantage of the new year and make an objective to improve our lives, my friends. Starting how we see the world.
Acting miserable, attracts misery. Thoughts and attitude have power.
The first step is the hardest. After that, be consistent. Let's be better next year. I will not wish that your dreams come true, but that all the hard work you guys do, pays off next year.
Now the bad News... I'm going in Hiatus.
In truth, I planned to go on hiatus when the OP arc ended. But for the people that didn't like One Piece that much and stuck around.. I think they deserve a Marvel chapter.
The truth, my dear readers... I'm tired. Maybe burn out.
I love this story, but I feel that I need some time away from it.
In truth, I'm writing some other stories to myself and I find them much more enjoyable. Writing super fast and easily...
Maybe I will post them.
I think is the pressure... sounds Silly, but I don't want to disappoint you guys.
But at the same time, I like to try different/controversial things to make this story different from the other fanfics.
But I feel like is a double-edged sword.
Anyway, I need my vacation. I'm afraid of starting to hate the story and dropping it.
I have so many ideas. I want to use them...
Ah, let me give an example... Of an abandoned storyline
Taking advantage that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus let me tell you guys about one of the abandoned storylines. related to it
Eventually would have an arc where would be revealed that Hector is a descendant of the "Mutant of Nazareth".
Yeah... controversial.
I took inspiration of Jojo's steel ball run.
Descendant of Joshua son of Joseph.
It would be part of a time travel, multiversal shenanigan arc. With the involvement of the Celestials, and other high powers.
Very hard to write.
Let me ctrl+c ctrl+V my notes(plot points to follow in the arc)
- Keep it ambiguous if Joshua(Mutant of Nazareth) and Jesus are the same people in Marvel
- They lived in similar times
- The three old pillars of Mutantkind: Selene Galio, Apocalypse and Joshua.
- Joshua saving Mutantking from extinction from the Deviant threat
-Joshua is the first natural born Omega-level/ Selene is Alpha-level and Apocalypse is augmented through Celestial Technology.
-Joshua has similar powers to Gold Experience Requiem/ Spiral- Forces of the universe.
- Retroactively awakening of the lineage because of Joestar birthmark bloodline.
- Call back to possible canonization of Joshua/ Kurt's father Azazel become a demon through his actions and adopting his "lineage"
- Call back to Power Manipulation... All For one quirk creates holes in the hands-Nail holes. "The Devil" mottif in One Piece- / "One often walks on his destiny unknowingly"
- Self Made prophecy
- Black and white
- The number 3... Rebirth. 30 days in BNHA. 3 Months in One piece. 3 years in<Spoiler>/ Death of "Eidolon" -- 3 connections with heroes in thre different generations
- Existence in Marvel world pre-transmigation. Hope Summers connection. Power Manipulation. Mutant Jesus
- "Chosen One Thingie"/ Inheritor.
It would go something like that. The rest is on my head.
Would be one of the ending arcs of this fanfic. But I can predict the headache already... Ugh.. So i gave up. It would be complicated to write too.
I think is cool... I mean... So many want to be Kryptonians, Saiyans, Incubus... But let's have some Human Pride, shall we? And who is more human that Joshua?
And I think is super badass. Imagine how metal would be Hector fighting demons on hell, and his awakened blood burning the bastards. Hehe
Anyway, it's a too much of a interesting idea to only stay in my mind.
But not worth for me to write.
If you like it, you can consider a headcanon. A hidden thing that will not be revealed on the story.
Maybe I will even make references to it here and there. Already did, btw...
If you don't like it. Forget it.
Now I'm going before the guy that spams something about the "kingdom of heaven" appears. Funny how we can't respectfully use biblical lore... Jojo and Hellsing used it pretty well and coming from a catholic household, gives me a little pride even though I'm not that religious right now.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
See you guys in some months. If I don't die.
Bye-bye. I expect to see you guys better than now next year.
Author's out!
Well, well, look what we have here~
A shameless author coming back like nothing happened...
Does anyone ever remember this story?
Well, sorry but not sorry... If you guys want a reason, that I guess you all deserve, I'm in the awkward period of transition to adult life... Ending of college, starting working, etc.
Anyway, I did not stop writing, I even wrote some other stories... That I may post too, but I left this one on hiatus because of the many reasons that I ranted. Some may remember, whatever... I like this story and one day I open my notifications to see people asking for a comeback. I have a little more time in my hands now so...
Let's goooo!
Let's start with an Extra to go back in shape, okay? Enjoy~
Ah, I almost forgot... Many people asked for it, so I finally made a P...A...T...R...E...O...N. Do I really need to write like this? Everyone does that...
If you guys want to support my work, I would be very grateful, it would be a good motivator to continue writing. I, sadly, do not have a lot of time in my hands anymore.
Here is the link, just remove the spaces: patreon . com / Evans269
By the way, the p*treon is under work, so there's not much there, but meh... I will add in the future.
Peace~
....
One Piece World, Country of Wano
City of Kuri, Backyard of Oden Castle
A certain group of individuals patiently waits on the spot, observing a certain open space ahead of them.
"Any minute now..." Yasuie, one of the people helping to rule Wano, comments to the others.
It was unnecessary to say, just some casual words to fill the silence. Everyone present is anxiously waiting for the moment when the Travellers of the past will arrive.
This event is kept as a "known secret" from the general population. They know that Momonosuke, Oden's heir, and the rest of the Scabbards will reappear thanks to Kozuki Toki's powers, but they don't know the details.
To give the Travellers time to adjust to the new Wano, the people who know about it made this decision to hide them for the foreseeable future.
Yasuie, the Scabbards that stayed, some other guards, feudal lords, and Hiyori, carrying a child in her arms, wait with certain because they trust the words of that person that confirmed this story. And their faith was rewarded...
*Swish*
Finally, a sudden but controlled flash of light brings the people that they are waiting for.
"Wah.!!" The newcomers shout in confusion, tensing while checking the surroundings.
Momonosuke, Kin'emon, Raizo, Kanjuro and Kikunojo. All of them are exactly like everyone remembers them.
There's a momentary pause in everyone's reaction. An awkward second where one group is still undecided about how to start explaining the very long new situation and the other group that understands nothing and is on guard...
Rightfully so because a second ago they are living a very traumatic event. Then suddenly everything looks normal. The night turns into day, there's no fire, no shouts, would be no danger too?
Even Momonosuke stopped his crying to look around, to check the situation properly.
The impasse was broken by Nekomamushi. He suddenly jumps very high in the air and drops back like nothing happened. A strange action that apparently has no meaning...
But his face was much more serious and grave, unfriendly even, when he landed back on the ground.
This makes the present-day group show a variety of expressions. Anger, sadness, resignation, and more.
Hiyori eyes become sharp for an instant before she assumes a calm smile again. More than a year of acting as a ruler taught her even more about keeping her head cool. And this is not even talking about the years that she needed to put up a facade in her time as Komurasaki.
She steps forward, genuinely happy to see everyone well.
"Everyone... Let me explain..." She starts saying, holding back some happy tears in her eyes.
The child in her arms looks at her curiously and then looks at these new people, alternating between the two, like he is trying to discover something.
"Mom!?" Momonosuke suddenly shouts
"! Fufu... No... no..." Hiyori was caught off guard and laughed lightly, that broke her composure a little and she couldn't keep to herself anymore. Putting her child down, she suddenly lunges forward to hug her small big brother.
"Uhh... For years I thought the worst... It's good that you're all alive!!" She cries while Momonosuke can't even react in shock.
....
"So this is really twenty years in the future?" Kin'emon asks again, his brain adjusting to the new reality. "And Kaido and Orochi are truly defeated??"
"Yes. More or less two years ago, Kin'emon." Yasuie answers
"We have a looot to catch up on, Kin-chan." Denjiro approaches with a smile
"Denjiro? What happened to your hair??"
"Hehe~ Don't you know hair loses color with age?" Denjiro laughs in a carefree way
"We are Twenty years older, so we are your seniors. Treat us with respect!" Ashura Doji adds in a teasing way
"Not only that, 20 years getting stronger." Inuarashi also teases Kin'emon and the others
"Don't worry, Kin-chan. We are gonna train you to our level~"
"You bunch of...!"
The group of samurai have their first brawl after two decades.
"Such lively atmosphere." Shinobu, the female ninja chuckles
"By the way, Hiyori-sama. I wanted to ask... What about this little kid?" Kin'emon pauses the all-out friendly fistfight to point to the kid in question.
"Oh... That's my son... Kenshin." Hiyori pulls the small boy by the hand "Say hello to you Uncle and retainers, Ken-chan."
"..." Kenshin is a cute and pretty boy with blue curly hair and shiny blue eyes. He obviously doesn't even have two years, but his build it's of a 4-year-old at least, maybe older.
Kenshin walks slowly to the front.
"Your... Your... Your... Your child?!?!" All of the Time Travellers shout in unison, eyes alternating between the kid and Hiyori, their mouth agape
"Fufu~ Yeah. Isn't he the cutest thing?" Hiyori fawns over her kid, showing her doting mother's side. "Go on, say 'Hi'." She urges Kenshin to greet the newcomers.
"..." Kenshin looks at everyone with curious eyes, his index finger on his mouth "My Uncle? But you're small..." He frowns cutely while looking a Momonosuke
"Obviously! I'm a child!" Momonosuke defends himself after being called a shorty
When Kenshin and Momonosuke are in front of each other is possible to see that Momonosuke is not that taller than Kenshin.
"I will explain better later, Ken-chan." Hiyori pats her head "It's that my brother didn't age since 20 years ago."
"Ooh... I see." Kenshin nods in understanding
Suddenly they hear a female voice approaching them "Damn, so I'm late!" She shouts while running at the group, raising a path of dust behind her
She is carrying her Kanabo over her shoulder, and grabbing a kid by the scruffle of his neck, like a bag.
"Yes, you are, Yamato. We are about to enter the castle to talk better." Hiyori says with a fond smile. The two became good friends during those two years.
"Damn... It's because of Ryusuke. He runs away at every chance he gets, I needed Long Yin and the others' help to find him this time. I thought he was on Onigashima, but he already run off here... I lost a lot of time looking for him." She says and raises her left hand to show the kid in question, still holding him by the collar on the back of the kimono, like a bag.
"Hi..." Ryusuke says uninterestedly while looking around at everyone, he is much different from his half-sibling.
"This is Yamato and Ryusuke. Ryusuke and Kenshin are half-brothers." Hiyori explains while gesturing to them.
"What?!?" Once again the newcomers receive a great shock.
"It's a long story..." It's all Hiyori says for now
At this moment, Ryusuke is struggling against Yamato's grip like a dog trying to run away.
"Mother Yamato! Ryusuke!" Kenshin starts moving at a moderate speed to the two, but suddenly he trips.
*Boom*
But instead of what would be expected, he didn't hurt himself on the ground after falling.
He destroyed the ground, creating a crater...
"Kenshin brat... Don't run suddenly, you don't have control over your strength." Yasuie admonishes him sternly, with his arms crossed.
"..." The time Travellers' mouths are ágape once again after witnessing the scene.
Kenshin looks like a fragile kid, but he cracked the ground when he hit it with his head.
He slowly pushes himself with his arms and looks at his mother with tears in his eyes "Mama... The ground tripped me." He isn't really hurt, these are tears of frustration.
Hiyori holds back to not console him instantly. She knows her child, he doesn't need help to get up. He is only checking everyone's reaction to see if no one is mad or anything. It's what he does when he messes up.
Ryusuke approaches the fallen Kenshin slowly, eventually looming over his fallen half-brother.
"..." Ryusuke it's really the complete opposite of Kenshin.
Ryusuke it's a least a head taller than his brother. Even taller than Momonosuke. His head is full of black hair, long enough to reach his shoulders, and only slightly curly. His are red and sharp and on his head, a set of dark red horns rests pointing at the sky.
While Kenshin has an angelic appearance, you can say that Ryusuke has almost a demonic appearance. Sharp features, red eyes, and horns...
The two look like they can't mix together. Like Yin and Yang. It's hard to imagine them getting along...
"Ryu... The ground tripped me..." Kenshin whines at his brother
"Oh..." Ryusuke narrows his eyes while looking down at Kenshin "Then let's beat him up, Ken." He raises his clenched fist.
*Boom* *Crack* *Bam*
The two literally start bashing the ground with attacks, taking revenge with their own smaller hands.
They don't look alike but in the end, the two share the same brain cell.
"..." The scene is obviously weird to the Time Travellers.
The two children stomped and punched the ground seriously as it owed them money. And the ground cracking and being destroyed by their attack like it's made of salt.
"There, there boy... Stop it." Finally, Yamato crouches down to stop the two "The ground doesn't fight back. There's no honor in defeating it." She explains seriously
And the two nod, accepting her reasoning.
"Ehh?" Kin'emon points to the kids while turning his head robotically to Hiyori
"It's a long story..." It's all she can say now.
...
The group starts making their way to the castle.
"It really changed a lot." Kin'emon commented while looking at the city below them and the landscape beyond. "I didn't remember those floating islands..."
The city was worn down, to say the least, when Hector saved everyone. And thanks to his knowledge of modern infrastructure he remade it more efficiently and appropriately to guarantee people's living quality, while keeping the roots and traditional style.
"This is one of the things that we will need to explain as a whole." Hiyori says while walking to them, but she suddenly stops "But before that..." Her eyes became sharp and she looked at the Mink retainers, Inuarashi and Nekomamushi.
The signal was given. In an instant they moved faster than the eye could see, catching every one of the time travelers by surprise.
And they attack Kanjuro.
Putting him in a submission, his hands are held behind his back by Inuarashi, while Nekomamushi slaps some Seastone handcuffs on his calves.
"What!?" The time Travellers jump in shock "What's happening here?!"
"Calm down, Kin'emon. Just watch." Ashura Doji grabs him by the shoulder so that he will not do anything stupid.
"Nekomamushi..." Hiyori says in a chilling voice. Much different from the previous warm girl who reunited with her family some minutes ago.
The big mink cat sighs and shakes his head. He then opens his hand to show everyone a painting smearing his palm. It's possible to see some resemblance with a bird form and some letters.
"So it's true... Let me explain to the ones that don't know." Denjiro steps forward while shaking his head "I believe since long ago, all of us have the looming suspicions that there's a traitor between us."
"..." Only with these words, do the realizations start hitting the Travellers.
"Initially we thought that maybe was a servant of the castle, a guard... But Kaido and Orochi knew of all of our movements. Even when Oden-sama one day decided to act and immediately did so... They still knew and are waiting for us." Denjiro says with a heavy tone.
He is making public everyone's secret thoughts. The thoughts no one dared to have for long before dismissing them.
Seeing the situation, with Kanjuro on the ground it didn't take a genius to figure out where this is going.
"But the traitor is much closer... And our past experiences... The good times... The crisis that we overcame together blinded us." Denjiro sighs and looks down with a look of anger "Isn't right, Kanjuro?"
"..." Kanjuro still keeps a confused expression... On his role till the end.
"Denjiro... Are you saying?!" Kin'emon voice quivers
"Tell me, Kanjuro... What is your last name?" Denjiro asks, his voice carrying a strange power
"...Kurozumi." Kanjuro answers while keeping his confused face. The word leaves his lips on its own. "What? How?" He surprises even himself with the answer.
"!!"
"As the one tasked to keep the order and uphold the laws of Wano, Hector-Sama saw fit to give me a power that compels the people to tell the truth and to detect lies." Denjiro explains, his eyes hard.
That's the man who thought that he lost everything. He went through so much pain that his hair changed colors and even his body was restructured by his anger.
And now he is facing the traitor. Few things awaken anger like a traitor.
"Since when?" Denjiro asks
"Since the start..." Kanjuro answers without any falsehood
"As expected..." Denjiro sighs again
Hiyori moves forward, her eyes cold while looking down at the traitor.
Her leg blurs and she kicks his stomach with considerable strength.
"ARgh!!"
Kanjuro doubles over, puking his guts at the attack.
"That's for my parents... My Father took you under his wing, shared his roof, his roof..." She says through gritted teeth "You didn't deserve the Oden made by him. You can put it all out now."
"Hiyori-sama..." The time travelers are shocked by her attitude.
The small, sweet, and tomboy girl also can be ruthless.
Kin'emon is still shocked. He, Denjiro, and Kanjuro are the oldest followers of Oden after all.
"Kanjuro... Why?" He asks in a pained voice.
" 'Why?' It was simply my role..." Kanjuro answers with a bloodied smile.
"..."
"What we should do with him, Hiyori-sama?" Denjiro asks
"Death obviously... The only question is 'How'. Crucified, boiled, quartering, burned, decapitated..." Ashura Doji says in anger
But Hiyori keeps looking at Kanjuro coldly "Tell me, Traitor... Now that you are caught... Do you regret it?" She asks
"My only regret... It's that I can't die on the stage..." Kanjuro says plainly "What a pity... I missed the play..." He sighs, showing no remorse for his actions
"..."
"You're really a heartless monster... Exactly like my husband said." Hiyori spats "A person that can't have his own joy or sadness, so it takes from others. Death will not hurt you, right? So be it..." Hiyori turns around and doesn't even look at the fallen man
"..."
"Lock him up... Deny him the light that he longs so much. Let him live in the darkness of the backstage till his death." She gives her sentence "Give enough to him to simply survive. It will be a good payback to all the years that Kawamatsu was locked up."
She walks a little before catching her son in her arms and giving one last disgusted look at Kanjuro.
"His power will be a good gift to my husband when he comes back. He can serve some purpose one last time."
...
Months passed
Through the streets of the City of Kuri, Kenshin is running away desperately.
"Ken-sama~ "
"Let me smooch you~~~"
"So cutee~~"
A bunch of women of different ages are running behind him, raising dust and destruction on their path, pursuing the cute boy with hearts in their eyes.
The people around only laugh at Kenshin's misfortune. It appears that this is a recurrent scene.
The women continued running, but they didn't notice that Kenshi lost them and was hiding in an alley.
"*Haah* *haah*" He pants in fear, his kimono is in disarray and it's possible to see kiss marks all over his face "Women... Scary..."
After looking around one last time, he jumps to the roof and starts going back to the castle.
He sneaks around and jumps a wall to reach the castle garden.
"Welcome back, Kenshin-sama"
"Hiih!" Kenshin jumps in fright before slowly turning around
Standing there, Shinobu The Bewitching Kunoichi.
She looks like she is in her younger days thanks to Hector helping her out.
"Shi-Shinobu... Are you following me? Since when?"
"It's not me following you, but I knew that you would come back using this route." She says cryptically.
"Hmpf!" Kenshin snorts and pouts before turning around and starting walking away while kicking the ground "If I knew that, I would have used Kuso-ka to run away from those women..." He continues with the biggest pout possible.
He didn't call the Cloud Guardian to teleport him away because it would give his position to his mother instantly. What he didn't know was that security around him was getting tighter and tighter as he started to run away.
Shinobu chuckles and shakes her head fondly at the little boy.
"Why are you starting to act like your brother?" Shinobu asks while following him. Kenshin was not the type to run around creating trouble.
"Hmpf, at least Ryusuku is having fun! And I'm here stuck with Momonosuke."
"...here is your Uncle..."
"He is annoying. That's what he is! A crybaby. A weak crybaby!"
"...he is family."
"Ryusuke is my brother! And Momonosuke doesn't like him, so I don't like him either! Hmpf!" He turns his head away again and runs inside the castle.
"..." Shinobu can only stay in place and sigh
The three kids are at odds for some reason.
First, Hector's sons kicked Momonosuke's ass in a friendly spar.
Ryusuke ends up hitting Momonosuke a little too hard, coupled with Momonosuke discovering that he is Kaido's grandson, which makes Momonosuke avoid Ryusuke and treat him coldly.
Ryusuke doesn't have an opinion about it. He doesn't even appear to notice that Momonosuke doesn't like him. He is simple like that.
Kenshin on the other hand, it's a little more perceptive... He doesn't like the way that Momonosuke treats his brother. Coupled with the adults saying to be "understanding of Momonosuke's circumstances" it appears to him that everyone is spoiling and prioritizing Momonosuke over him and his brother.
Everyone is paying more attention to the newcomer Momonosuke.
It's somewhat understandable. Momonosuke needs help to adapt to the New Wano, the new time, and his new training as a future shogun. But to Kenshin's young mind, it looks unfair.
....
"So this is happening, huh?" Hiyori says with a sad sigh after receiving Shinobu's report
She walks to the window of her office in the castle of Kuri, or Castle of Oden as it is more popularly called.
She watches the beautiful view. The weather is good, the clouds don't hinder the sky, and they complement it in a picturesque visage together with the floating lands and shiny chains. Greeneries and beautiful mountains go to as long as your sight allows. She feels a sense of pride in her chest, it's her husband's work.
"Maybe I should have a talk with him... He is smarter than his peers. Maybe I can explain everything Momonosuke went through..." She says
"Isn't too heavy of a topic to bring to a two-year-old kid?" Shinobu asks "Just let them be... Kids fight, they will come around."
"Maybe... But I also think that it will be of the best if their relationship was fixed earlier than later." Hiyori explains her point of view "And also... Momonosuke needs to be the one apologizing first." Her voice is a little harder now
"..."
"I know how he treated Ryusuke... And he is the older one. Much older. He should be the one acting maturely. If not, he will never have Kenshin's respect."
"..." Against that Shinobu doesn't have much to say
"Pass the message to one of the scabbards. Or maybe Yasuie-san... Momonosuke needs a man-to-man talk. After that, I will talk with Kenshin."
"I will pass the order." Shinobu bows before disappearing.
"..."
Hiyori continues looking at the vast expanse of Wano before saying "Continue watching Kenshin..." She says seemingly to the empty air.
Suddenly the shadows move and a dozen of Ninja Shadowkhan appear in their black outfit, grey skin, and eyes shining red. They respecifully bow before sliding away silently, mingling in the shadows.
Anyone who knows the specifics must find it weird that Hiyori has the Shadowkhan, Hector's personal demon ninjas, at her disposal when he is nothing in this world anymore. The Shadowkhan are linked to the Shadowkhan realm in Hector's being... They can't be separated and sustained a universe away from him. When he came back, the Shadowkhan should have followed him back even if he wanted to keep them here...
But Hector can always cheat the rules a little.
The key to what he did was using the Soru Soru no Mi powers.
First, he ripped each Shadowkhan individually from his Shadowkhan Realm, then he imbued them with Soul Power before they disappeared to turn them into homies.
Now they can exist independently from him and stay here.
Obviously, there are downsides... First, without the Shadowkhan Realm, they can't regenerate anymore, so if they are damaged or destroyed it will be for real. Second, now they are like "hybrid homies", they have the same weakness.
And it was a costly process because Hector lost the Shadowkhans that he "ripped off", weakening his Shadowkhan Realm and losing his progress with it.
How many Shadowkhans he ripped off? All of them.
Each and every single one that he had. The Ninjas and even the ones of the other types, like the Sumo, Bat, Razor, and Samurai khans that his realms started producing.
He went back to Marvel at square zero on that aspect.
But he doesn't mind. It will heal with time in some months.
He knows that his creations are the most loyal people that he can leave behind to take care of his family, he will not be stingy with them.
.....
Some days later
"Hah!" In the training grounds of the castle of the Flower Capital, Momonosuke swings his training sword under the supervision of Kin'emon.
On the other side, Kenshin observes Momonosuke's swings with an uninterested expression.
"Kenshin-sama, you should practice too..." A tall man with a rectangular nose says at his side.
He is a former CP agent, reformed by Hector, and also a known Character from the franchise. Kaku, the Giraffe Zoan and sword user that fought Zoro.
In the end, Hector's charisma was enough to convert people who worked for the former World Government after he destroyed them.
"No, I shouldn't. Why I am doing this again?" Kenshin turns to Kaku
"..." Kaku can't answer that.
Normally, Kenshin shouldn't have practiced swordplay that earlier in his life, but thanks to his well-developed physique he could convince the people to give him some teachings.
So, it proved too easy for him and he stopped from now. Because the next step is dangerous for his age.
He is being forced to practice in a tentative to make him closer to Momonosuke.
But Kenshin doesn't see this way. In his vision, he is being punished for no reason.
Repetitively swaying a sword for nothing is what, if not punishment?
And Ryusuke, his brother, is out there playing. Free.
"You shouldn't make light of the way of the sword!" Suddenly Momonosuke intervenes, having heard the exchange between Kenshin and Kaku.
"..." Kenshin turns to him slowly. His eyes are fixated on Momonosuke like the older boy is an idiot.
"..." 'He is really his son...' Kaku sweatdrops while looking at Kenshin's expression.
That expression that judged you unworthy of even explaining something. So he just stares down at you like you're a waste of effort.
"What? You should take your training seriously!" Momonosuke continues, unaware of the reason for Kenshin's silence
"..." Now Kenshin narrows his eyes.
"..." 'Ugh, This can be bad' Kaku is being hit by some PTSD. Bad things tend to happen after those blue shiny eyes are squinted.
Suddenly Kenshin raises his arm which is holding his training sword, and brings it down.
*Swish* *Boom*
Luckily not in Momonosuke's direction, because his movement made a deep trench on the ground
"...!"
"!!"
Momonosuke and Kin'emon are slackjawed in surprise after seeing the display.
"Don't talk about what you don't know..." Kenshin says with a deadpan voice.
"That... That doesn't mean anything! Only that you have a strong body!" Momonosuke tries to argue
"It means that I'm stronger than you." The younger one says with the smuggest smile possible.
This only angers Momonosuke further, making him growl at the blue-haired boy.
"Just you wait! I will grow and surpass you!"
"You're older than me. I will grow too."
"I will not stay behind you for long. I'm Momonosuke! That is what my name means... 'Second to None'! It was given by my Father, Kozuki Oden!"
"Is that so? Is that so? I'm Kenshin! My name means... My name means..."
The two kids argue back and forth before Kenshin suddenly realizes that he doesn't know what is the meaning of his name. He never asked
"You don't know what your name means?" It's Momonosuke's turn to act smug
"Hmpf. Stay right here! My name's meaning is awesome! KUSO-KA!!"
Kenshin's shout makes a very conspicuous blue cloud in the sky stir.
"Take me to my mom!" He shouts again and a blue portal starts swirling close to him. Fearless he jumps on it.
Kaku can only sigh before following him fast. He will need to give the context to Hiyori.
.....
"Mama! Mama! Mama!!"
"What happened, Ken-chan?" Hiyori was in the middle of a meeting with some Scabbards and Yasuie when Kenshin suddenly appeared through a portal. Kaku following behind.
"What does my name mean?"
Hiyori gives Kaku a glance, making the man sigh and tell an abridged version of the events.
"Kenshin-sama argued with Momonosuke. That was one of the topics."
"I see..."
"Moooom~ Tell me~ What does my name mean???" Kenshin throws a tantrum to get her attention
"Well..." Hiyori put a finger in her mouth while looking at the ceiling to remember "Your father named you. He went through a loooooot of names. Some that I thought were good too, but he paused and changed it when she saw me seriously considering it."
Kenshin has a laser focus on his mom's words. Even the other big shots present are paying attention.
"In the end, he settles for Kenshin."
"And what does it meaaaans?"
"Well, it means 'Modest' before everything." Hiyori gives her son a knowing look "Are you being modest, Kenshin?"
"..." Kenshin sweatdrops while looking around nervously. Just earlier he act exactly the opposite of modest.
Hiyori chuckles after seeing her son's antics "Fufufu~ Your Father knew (and made that) you would be above your peers, Ken-chan. He named you in the hope that you would be humble beyond all that." She caresses her son's soft hair with fondness in her eyes, it's so much like her husband.
She continues "He also told me about the man from which he took the name, but I will tell you later, okay? You behaved badly today."
Kenshin's eyes shine hearing his mother, but then his face morphs into one of disappointment.
Hiyori once again giggles seeing her son's face, she can read it so easily "Ryusuke's name was also given by your Father. And it also came from, apparently, another someone your father admires. Why don't you go ask Yamato about it?" She urges him.
He smiles broadly before jumping for her lap and shouting from Kuso-ka to open a portal.
"Fufu~"
"Kekeke. He comes and goes as he pleases. Remembers someone?" An old-timer laughs
"It's on his blood. Hahaha"
....
In another part of Wano, sometime earlier
Ryusuke tilts his head while watching a ship on the dry beach, overturned.
It's a very colorful ship, with a lion head on the front.
"Pirates... Bad guys?" He asks himself while fearlessly walking to the ships and the castaways sprawled on the sand.
He thinks this way because they didn't use the port.
But even so, he doesn't fear them. Rarely does he fear something.
He approaches the group.
"Oh, this one is dead!" He approaches a skeleton in strange clothes and makes a prayer to the dead man.
"Oy oy oy! Are you dead too??" He crouches down and starts slapping the head of a black-haired man.
The head of the man is flattened by the strikes.
"Eeeeehh? That's fun!" Ryusuke says while he keeps slapping the bouncy head
"Who are you? And what are you doing?" Suddenly a big blue fishman emerges from behind the ship
"Oh! Like Kawamatsu..." Ryusuke comments
"What are you doing, kid? Don't go around hitting unconscious people." Jinbei says while approaching the fallen Luffy and grabbing him.
"I'm not hitting him, I was trying to wake him." Suddenly Ryusuke turns hostile and points at Jinbe "And don't give me orders! You're the invader here!"
"...well, that's kinda true. But we mean no harm." Jinbe says reasonably "We are only here to visit an old friend."
"Oh, then it's okay." Ryusukue believes in him easily.
.....
Eventually, almost everyone in the Thousand Sunny woke up on the beach.
"Who is this cute child?? Kyah~" Nami fawns over Ryusuke, hugging his head against her breasts "Hm? You look familiar..." She stops, frowning, while looking at Ryusuke's deadpan face
"This kid... Switch with me!!!" Sanji beats the ground while biting his lips enough to bleed.
While Ryusuke is being smoldered, he turns around and raises his hand to the sky, and says "I'm okay."
"What is that?" they look at the direction he turned, but they don't see anything
"Just warning my protectors... They could've killed you guys." Ryusuke says in a flat voice, finally getting away from Nami and putting some distance.
"Protectors?"
"It would not be easy..." Zoro says while looking at the direction, but not seeing anyone.
"Is this kid some kind of bigshot?? Let's go. I smell something troublesome! We are not kidnapping him!!!" Ussop raises his hand and tries to signal to the invisible protector.
"Are you rich?" Nami approaches him again, trapping him in her arms.
"Can you tell us a little about Wano?" Robin also approaches, smiling gently at the boy
At this point, the last member of the Voyage wakes up.
"Ugh... The sea... So dangerous." A rabbit girl rises to her feet groggily
"Finally, woke up Carrot. I was almost worried." Chopper comments.
"I'm good, Chopper-aniki it was just that- Aaaaaaaaaaahhh" Carrot pauses what she is saying when she notices Ryusuke "Ryu-chaan!!" She shouts
""""""?""""""
"Do you know him?"
"Do you know me?"
Everyone, even Ryusuke, is confused.
"I saw you when you were a baby. I visited you with the bosses. You don't remember... That's natural." Carrot approaches the kid and pats his head.
"His birth made you come here from Zou?" Robin says and starts looking at Ryusuke more attentively. She is already guessing his identity
"Yeah. He is the son of Hector-dono. One of the two." Carrot says What is nothing special "Where is Kenshin?" She turns to Ryusuke again
"You really know us... Ken must be training..." Ryusuke answers easily.
"""""""!!!!!""""""
Now everyone is looking at the small creature with different expressions.
"The son of that guy?" Nami is holding Kenshin by his armpits, but putting him at arm's length
"You guys know my father?" Ryusuke tils his head
"Yeah, we met him some years ago..."
"Is wavy hair here?" Luffy asks with a big smile
"Dad is out." Ryusuke answers without expression.
"Eh? Where?"
"Don't know. Out since forever..." Ryusukue shrugs
"Own~ Did he abandon you? That bastard! When I see him again, I will beat him for you!" Nami hugs the poor child
"..." Ryusuke simply maintains his impassive face
Suddenly, blue mist starts appearing from nothing close to them.
The fighters put a stance first while the rest follow suit.
"Someone is coming..."
"So close and I don't even notice..."
From the blue cloud-like portal a small silhouette appears
"Ryuuu~ Check it out! I just discovered the meaning of my name! Hm? Who are you people?" Kenshin appears together with another tall figure
"Eh? Roronoa? The Strawhats?!" Kaku puts a fighting stance while facing the pirate group.
"You are... That Giraffe Guy."
"The Cipher Poll?!?" The Strawhats are ready for a fight.
Fearless, like he is not feeling the tension, Kenshin walks to Ryusuke, who is still in Nami's arms, and talks to him like everything is normal.
"Ryu, let's ask Mama Yamato from where your name came from."
"Hm... Fine, let's go!" The kid jumps from Nami's arms and the two start walking away.
"..."
Everyone stays in an awkward silence.
"Cipher Poll, what are you doing here?" Ussop points at Kaku, from behind Zoro, and asks while shouting
"I live here. You guys that need to answer some questions."
They argue while Ryusuke and Kenshin move away
"Who are those people?" Ken asks
"Dumb pirates, they don't know how to use the port."
"Oh, they're dumb."
...
Eventually, the misunderstanding was cleared.
The group decided to go together to Kuri to find Yamato. The boys try to not abuse too much of Kuso-ka's teleportation abilities.
"And what about the Sunny?" Franky asks
"We can simply carry it there, no?" Ryusuke asks confused, going to the ship and lifting the whole thing over his head
"!!!!!!" The Strawhat group's eyes pop off their sockets and their jaws drop
"No Ryu, there are some places that are too narrow to carry a ship. Let's ask Kuso-ka to transport it to the port."
"But we shouldn't use Kuso-ka all the time...It takes the fun of traveling and spoils us." Ryu repeats the words he heard in the past
"We're not traveling... The ship is. It's okay if we don't go."
"Oooh~"
Then the two shout for Kuso-ka to open a huge portal and Ryu throws the ship as it weights as much as a pillow.
"Hey, be careful with that!" Franky shouts
"Don't worry. Kuso-ka is not that dumb even though he is a little dumb." Ryu gives a thumbs up to Franky like he gave all the necessary information, even when he is not making any sense.
"Kaku, go check the ship." Kenshin says, to get rid of Kaku.
"..." Kaku expression. changes but in the end, he sighs "Whatever, there's nothing that can hurt you guys here anyway." But he still takes a Den Den Mushi out to warn another ex-CP agent who is in Kuri that the boys are going there.
Then he jumps in the portal.
"I'm going too!" Franky shouts and follows Kaku
The rest of the Strawhats stay with the kids
"Are you two really Hector's children?" Nami asks the obvious
"Oh, so you know our father... Yes." Kenshin says dismissively and starts walking to a path in the forest.
"..." The Strawhats look at each other before Luffy starts following the two, then Carrot, and then the rest.
...
"Can you put me down?" Kenshin says with an exasperated tone while being carried by Nami. Her arms underneath his armpits while she hugs him close to her chest.
"No! You're simply so cute~ I can't believe that that devil made two cutes like you two!"
"Fufu~ Well, it's not that hard to believe because he is very presentable himself." Robing says at her side while carrying Ryusuke, who looks equally done with life.
"These two... Uggghhhhh... Why I am not a child???" Sanji continues to cry blood
"I would be crying blood too... If I had blood... And eyes! Yohohohohoho"
"Hey, Ken-chan. What about the Cipher Poll? Why are they here?" Nami tries to get some information
"Cipher what?"
"That guy Kaku..."
"Kaku is here since forever..."
"From his perspective, it must be true.." Robin says "How old are you?"
"Two..."
"Two??!" The Strawhats are again surprised
The kids look at least almost 8 years old.
"Everyone is always surprised..." Ryu says calmly from Robin's arms.
Robin on her part, is frowning slightly while the pieces of a puzzle fall in place.
"There are others like Kaku here?" Nami is good at prying for information discreetly, a skill she developed during her time as a cat burglar.
"Yes... There's a lot, but you must be asking about Kaku's group, right?" Ken guesses correctly. He is a smart kid and he can understand they're talking about the people closer to Kaku "There's Lucci, Stussy, Blueno, Grog..."
"Lucci?!?!"
"The Pigeon Guy?"
"Why are they here? They are bad people!!" Nami shouts
"They are not. Stop slandering my people or I will get angry..." Kenshin says frowning, a strange pressure emanating from him
"But... But..." Nami gives Robin a glance.
But the raven-haired woman smiles gently. "With the ending of the World Government, Hector-san must have taken them in."
"But..."
"It's okay, it's not because they worked there that they are all fully evil. Even I was evil before and you guys took me in, right?" She smiles at the Strawhats.
"..."
"Robin-chwwwaannn! Your heart is bigger than the Grand Line! I love you even more now!!"
They finally get out of the dense forest, having a clear view of Wano for the first time.
From their point of view, they can see grasslands that stretch far and wide, pristine rivers that cross the lands unintended, floating islands surrounded by beautiful clouds, and rays of light that pass through the clouds giving the whole pace a picturesque beauty.
And this is without talking about the animals and Flowers that add much more to the scenario, making it very alive.
"Wow~"
"It's beautiful here!"
"It was that floating islands?"
"They are being held on Earth by these giant chains?!
They can see some structures on top of the islands, and the chains are huge enough for some carriages to use it as a bridge to reach the islands.
They can also see Kuri at a distance, a beautiful and colorful city that surrounds a castle on a mountain, and a huge cherry blossom tree behind it. There's also some sort of Building in the tree.
From their high point of view, they can even see the port. In the past, the port was far from Kuri, but the city expanded slowly, with a road that connects the two.
"That's where I threw the ship..." Ryu points "I can see my mother ship from here, so she must be there too..."
"You can see the ships from here?" Ussop puts on his glasses to check "You have an excellent vision!"
"You guys are fun...*Munch* Impressed with everything..." At some point, Kenshin escapes Nami's arms and reappears eating a fruit.
"Where did you find that fruit?" Choppers ask, the two are the same height.
"It looks good!" Luffy smells the air "I'm hungry..."
"There... Just ask the Sakura tree for it?" Kenshin points at a small Cherry blossom tree close to the road
"Boy, are you crazy? Ask a tree?" Ussop says in disbelief "That tree doesn't give fruits, I know it..."
"Hey tree, give me some too..." Luffy is already asking for it, raising his hand like a beggar
"Oy Luffy, don't fall for the kid jok- What!" Ussops starts admonishing his dumb and naive captain before his eyes bulge outs
From a branch, a fruit instantly grows and falls on Luffy's hand.
"!!"
"Ooh!" Luffy eyes shine and he eats the fruits in one bite "Give me more!" And the tree obeys, dropping fruit after fruit in his mouth.
Another impressive thing is that they are all different types of fruits... Mangoes, strawberries, oranges, apples. The tree also appears to understand Luffy and starts dropping bigger and bigger fruits.
"What is with this magical tree?" Nami asks in shock
At this point, the rest of the crew also went forward to ask for some fruits. Sanji even asks for specific and rare fruits, but the tree never fails to deliver them.
Even Vegetables! Carrot acquired for a... carrot and received one without a problem.
"Is this the All Blue?" Sanji asks in genuine curiosity
"Can you explain, Ken-chan?" Robin smiles friendly at the kids while crouching down to be at the same eye level as them.
Kenshin shrugs "It's just Mirutsuri."
"Mirutsuri?"
"One of the guardians..." He points at the castle on the Horizon, not the tree behind it.
"She is all over the country." Ryusuke adds
"Parts of her." Kenshin explains "In the past a tyrant ruled Wano..."
He starts moving his hands and making faces to tell his tale.
"People went hungry... But my father saved them and to anyone never go hungry again he created the Guardian Tree, Mirutsuri. Her roots go all over the country, creating small versions of her... Travelers and hungry people just need to ask and she will give them fruits and vegetables... It's nothing luxurious, but this way no one will starve." He finishes with a big and satisfied smile.
"..." Robin looks at him with an unreadable expression.
"No one starves? That's nice!"
"Can't people abuse this?" Nami asks
"Yeah, like asking for a lot and selling it." Ussop continues
"People are respectful and grateful here. Hmpf!." Kenshin argues
"And Mirutsuri is not dumb..." Ryusuke adds
The Guardian Tree is a last resort, or a treat, to the poor. It will never affect the production... Because the production is great from the beginning.
Most people who use Mirutsuri services are Travellers and people who can't acquire something at the moment. Some even leave something in return, like money and other products, like hats, small sculptures, and other foods, like an offering.
"I already like this place!" Luffy says, fat from eating a lot.
"And what if someone tries cutting it?" Zoro asks
"..." Kenshin and Ryusuke look at him like he is an idiot. "She is a guardian..." It's all they say, like is enough explanation, before resuming they walk to the port.
....
In the Port
"Oyyyy, Frankyyy!" Luffys shouts as he runs to the Sunny.
The rest of the crew pays a little more attention to their surroundings. They notice the lively atmosphere of the this Port Town, everyone greeting Kenshin and Ryusuke with smiles, it looks like a nice place.
"..." The more perceptive ones of the crew notice the people equally measuring them up like they are ready to jump them if they hurt the two boys.
Robin carefully collects information with her powers as they finally reach their ship.
"Ey, isn't that..." Nami starts
"Yes..." Robin says
Just a little beside the Sunny a ship dwarfs the rest, with a completely different aesthetic. First, there are no sails, it shines with its metallic exterior of black and white, sleek, beautiful, and menacing.
Hector, the Devil, famous ship Dawn.
"Never saw it..."
"Me neither, only in the newspapers."
They are close enough to listen to Luffy's sudden shout and see the reason for it.
"Strawhat..." Rob Lucci says with a displeased face
"Pigeon Guy!" Luffy points "What are you doing close to the Sunny?"
"Did you forget I am also a shipwright? I was making sure your ship has nothing dangerous on it..." Lucci scoffs
"He was trying to check on it, but I can't trust him enough!" Franky exclaims to the side
"If you all don't comply, I would have to remove you..." Lucci raises his hand "Please, do not comply." "A savage grin spreads through his features.
From the side Kaku sighs, the situation is escalating quickly, and he hopes that whoever he calls has arrived already.
"Luffyyy~ Stop this already! We're in their territory!" Ussop, the guy that can smell Danger, shouts.
"Hey Ken-chan! Help us out here! Tell Lucci to stop!" Nami turns to the small boy
"...but this looks fun." He deadpans at her
"You're his son alright!!!" Nami shouts, her teeth become pointy because of her anger.
The situation is getting tense, the Strawhats are not gaining any fans from the locals from starting a fight with Lucci. To them, he was an ex-enemy, a killer... But to those locals, he is one of the Neo Beast Pirates' Commanders.
He was a direct subordinate o fone Hector's wives, and gained some reputation for being strong, increasing his reputation with these samurai.
Talking about Hector's wives...
"What is happening here?!" A voice cuts the tension... no mostly likely crushed the tension
"Yamato-sama!" The people chorus at her arrival.
The tall woman appears from the sky and lands on top of Dawn, looking down on everyone below, a frown marring her face.
"Oh~ What a beautiful lady~" Sanji easily becomes a wiggly worm, sparming around.
"Sanji... That's a Yonko." Jinbe warns
"And Hector's wife..." Robin completes, she easily guessed "Ryu-chan mama, right?" She smiles at the boy from confirmation.
Ryusuke gives her a thumbs-up while maintaining his calm face.
"Kaku, what is all this ruckus? Hm? Wait a minute..." She shouts before pausing "You're Ace's brother! Monkey D. Luffy!" She smiles while pointing her Kanabo at him
"You know my brother?"
"Yes, he talked a lot about you!" She laughs "And my husband too..." Her smile morphs into something more savage "He said that if you one day come here for the Road Poneglyphs... To kick your ass!"
*Gulp* The whole place trembles as a wave of Conqueror's Haki washes over them.
...
But a fight did not break out at that moment.
"Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me~" Kenshin sways Yamato while grabbing her shoulder.
Yamato is not a hot-headed individual who would jump into a fight without explaining some things beforehand. Not anymore at least...
So, she invited them to one of the mansions she could use.
"Wait, I'm trying to remember..." Yamato makes a face of concentration while stopping her son whom she never birthed from annoying her by asking for the meaning of their names.
Around the room, the Strawhats sit while eating and drinking from what some serving girls brought them. The two ex-Cipher Polls are on the corner awkwardly.
"If I'm not wrong... Hector told me the tale of Kenshin, a samurai bloodthirsty enough to be called a Manslayer." Yamato says while making a pensive expression.
"..." Her words attract the attention even of the ones that have nothing to do with the matter.
"But he changed his ways, making an oath to never kill again... He even started using a katana with a reverse blade."
"A katana with a reverse blade?" Zoro frowns while drinking some sake "He fought without the edge then?"
"Yes, and even though he went through many tribulations that almost made him return to his blood path, he never took the easy way and killed his opponents." Yamato then smiles at Kenshin and ruffs his hair "He said that your existence had a similar effect on him, Ken-chan. It made him look at the world a little more positively and be more kind. Always trying his best to solve issues with recurring to the last resort."
"...oh~" Kenshin looks fascinated by this piece of lore.
"Isn't the same guy that massacred Mary Geoise?" Nami whispers to her people
Robin: "..."
"There's more to that story..." Lucci heard her and said in a serious tone "I was there..."
The Strawhat crew looks at him strangely, but he doesn't explain further. What does he mean? Didn't Hector erase the land of the Tenryubito from the map? What more happened there? Did he spare some of them? How?
"...and what about me?" Ryusuke asks, interested now
"Well, the 'Ryu' is obviously because we wished you to be a dragon among men~" Yamato snatches her son, hugging him so that she could tickle his sides.
This makes him laugh loudly and fight back till she shows Mercy and stops.
"The 'suke' parts also come from some people that he admires. Kind people... He also wished you to be kind." She smiles at him fondly "There's one in particular that he told me about... He was a kind person, but very misunderstood because of his appearance, people Always thought that he was a delinquent and created trouble with him, but at his core, he was a kind person even though he didn't show it that often. Even with all the discrimination... Your grandfather did some bad things, I don't even know if I should talk about it, but he feared that you would be avoided or discriminated against, he couldn't stop it from happening... So he wished that you wouldn't stop being kind because of other people's bad feelings." She ruffs her hair too "I think the name of the guy was Yusuke or something like that."
Unfortunately, some people will have some bad impressions of Yamato and Ryusuke because of Kaido. It's hard to change other people's feelings, Hector simply desired that his son wouldn't change because of it... He knows that if he keeps being an honest person, he will reach everyone's heart. After all, it's his son.
Thankfully, Yamato's honesty changed a lot of people's views, and is rare for people who still ahs some misgivings regarding the two or the Beast Pirates.
"Oh, that guy can be nice too..." Nami sighs a little happy
"Wavy-hair is cool dude." Luffy says with his mouth full "He gave me food, he can do ninjutsu and he saved Ace."
"Oy oy Luffy, the order of importance of those things is a little wrong..." Ussop deadpans.
While giving a playful chokehold on her kids, Yamato turns to the rest of the room.
"Oh Carrot, long time no see!" She exclaims
"Yamato-dono! Garchu!" The rabbit mink hugs the tall woman and rubs her face with her own.
"Garchu... I guess you brought them here, right?"
"Yes, they helped me when I was stranded on the sea, and I brought them to Zou." Carrot answers "They are searching for the Road Poneglyphs..."
"Yes, Hector collected them." Yamato reveals to the Shock of the rest
"Did he..?"
"...reached Laugh Tale?"
"No idea... I asked once but he only laughed" Yamato shrugged "Then he would say something like 'it's not for me'."
"..."
"You guys came to the right place to get them... Wano is the key to two of them!" She reveals with a big smile
"So you can give them to us?!" Ussop exclaims happily
"No." She denies fast, making the guy fall face first on the ground.
"Why??"
"My husband's instructions are clear... That place is not for the weak!" She smiles savagely "You guys need to defeat me to take my Road Poneglyph and after that, I will reveal the location of the other one."
"Sounds easy enough." Zoro also smiles predatorily
Luffy also rolls his arms, with a big smile.
"I can't hit a woman..." Sanji adds
"Shitty cook, I was not counting you anyway."
"What did you say, mosshead?! Maybe I should deal with you so that you can cut a hair from Yamato-sama!"
"Oh no!! Sanji changed sides!!!"
.....
"Well, that's it..." Yamato says blandly after one-shotting Luffy and Zoro.
The tip of her kanabo touching the ground, a silver-colored Kanabo, that she swung just once top ut down the top Fighters of the Strawhat Pirates.
"There's no problem if you all go against me. Are you guys gonna try too?" She turns to look at Jinbe, Sanji, and the rest.
"It can't be..." Nami covers her mouth in Shock
"Luffy..." Ussop mutters.
Choppers rush to treat the two.
"That's a Yonko... The top of the world. It's not because you can see it that you can reach it." Lucci says, half scorn for the Strawhats half reverence for their display of strength.
"As much as it hurts to admit, I don't think we can win right now." Jinbe says seriously. He is probably the most familiar with a Yonko power level.
"That's fine too!" Yamato gives him a thumbs up "You guys can challenge me again, and even train here in Wano. Hector said that there's things to learn here." She says friendly even though she just pummeled them on the ground, trampling over their dignity.
She starts walking away, her sons following her while waving goodbye to them.
"Anyway, I think I'm forgetting certain things, but just go talk with Hiyori. She will remember it" She says her goodbyes over her shoulder.
...
On the sea, close to Wano
A very distinct ship travels through the waves, getting closer and closer to Wano.
"We can already see it... Wano!" Captain Kid grins largely while eyeing the turbulent Waters and small mountains poking out of the water.
"Are you sure about that? 'Wano is the place where the Devil rests' it's what the people say." Killer one of the Worst Generation and the acting First Mate of the Kid Pirates says "No unwanted pirate ever put their feet there and came back to tell the tales... The ones that come back, swore their loyalty to Wano and the Beast Pirates."
"We can't move forward with stomping that place." Kid grins remain ferocious
"..." Killer looks at Kid's side, at the lack of his arm, but decides to say nothing. He will follow his captain's orders.
"Men! Forward!" Kid shouts to pump up the morale.
*Caw*
Suddenly, they hear a sound... Like a bird. It's Loud and appears to be from everywhere.
The experienced Grandline dwellers that they are, the crew quickly entered battle mod. Any change in the Grandline is a potential Danger, after all.
*Caw*
The same sound again, a prelude to something... They can feel it...
Then a yellow light starts shining through the heavy clouds, cutting them like nothing, making them look like they are in midday time...
....
Exactly half a minute earlier in Wano.
Mirutsui, the Guardian Tree, the real body that stays behind Oden's castle.
A huge and beautiful tree that provides a pleasant shade and protection to the residence of Hiyori and her family.
On that tree, lays a nest.
*Caw*
The sound makes everyone in the city look up, like the bell of a church.
*Caw*
"A second one... Kinrasu-sama is going to take care of it." I civilian comments before going back to his affairs.
It appears that the numbers of "Caws" have different meanings and no one looks worried now.
A yellow light shines on the nest on the Guardian tree for an instant, before the rays of light disperse.
"Poor fellas..." A guy sighs and shakes his head before going back to hit a nail with his hammer.
....
*ShiinG *Zssss* *Boom*
It happened in an instant... First came the yellow light... Then came the heat... And finally the impact.
Victori Punk, the ship of the Kid's pirates was obliterated in an instant.
Kid and his tribulation are eliminated.
...
Dozens of kilometers away, the "confront" was seen by another notorious group of pirates.
"Whoa, Wano is really forbidden territory, huh?" Yassop whistles while lowering his telescope
"Just for certain people... Like us. Hahahaha!" Shanks laughs uproariously
"That's what you gain for getting on the bad side of that Hector Guy." Another laugh
"What then, captain? Should we try force in..." Ben Beckman asks while taking a drink.
"..." Shanks gets a little serious, he looks over the edge of his ship, and his gaze appears to Pierce through the miles, looking at the wreckage of Kid's ship.
Right there, on the remains, the winner stands like showing off his superiority.
A huge golden crow perched on one leg, looking down on the water, water that is boiling by his sheer presence. His feather appears to be made of gold and fire, the air is distorting because of the heat.
The crow suddenly looks up, directly into Shanks's eyes.
The Red Hair can see the haughtiness, the arrogance, the challenge on these pupils that appear molten gold.
Kinrasu, the youngest of the Wano Guardians, the most arrogant one and with a troublesome personality... But his arrogance doesn't allow him to slack on his job.
The crow opens his wings and flies high in the air, and then flaps them again...
If all Guardians made a pirate crew, Kuso-ka would be the navigator Mirutsui would be the cook, Long Yin the captain, and Kinrasu would be... the sniper.
*Shing*
Countless rays of light pierce the air and instantly reaches the ship of the Red Hair pirates.
Shanks obviously saw that and blocked the rays of light, causing them to diverge into the air and the sea, creating huge explosions that shook the ship.
When he looks up, Kinrasu is not even there anymore... He returned to Wano.
It was only a warning.
He could have sniped Kid from Wano too, that's how powerful he is, but Kinrasu showed up to check his work.
"It appears that we're not welcomed..."
"You think? Hahaha!"
The Red Hair pirates retreat.
.....
It's funny that the whole spectacle, the fact that Kinrasu went personally and even antagonized Shanks was born from a single sentence from Hector.
"Don't let any red-haired pirates in..." He joked once.
....
"My husband talked about you..." Hiyori leads Robin through some secret passages of the castle.
"Good things, I hope." The archaeologist says diplomatically
"Yes, he likes you a lot." Hiyori smiles
"..." Robin doesn't know what to say to that.
What can you say when a woman tells you that her husband likes you a lot?
They reach a stair and start going down.
"He had many side projects and one of them was to collect poneglyphs. He kept all of them down here for you..." Hiyori says
"I... I'm very honored and grateful."
"Fufu~ Don't be, he will get bashufull~ He is not good at accepting thanks." Hiyori laughs to herself, like remembering something.
"..." Robin doesn't know what to say anymore. In truth, she has something to ask, but it could destroy Hiyori's good mood "It's a beautiful country. Everyone likes it very much." It's what she decides to say
"Fufu~ Thank you." Hiyori smiles gratefully before noticing something "Oh, let me show this first..."
The two walk a little to the side to find what looks like a window
"This is..." Robin's eyes widen
"Old Wano." Hiyori explains.
Robin looks at the submerged city with awe "So this what it means to open the borders of Wano."
"Exactly."
"And what are those things?"
In the antique Japanese-style city, some round and metallic objects stay floating in the water, like submarines. It looks out of place, something that looks too modern and clean, contrasting with the dilapidated and filled with algae ancient city.
"I don't know..." Hiyori shakes her head "My husband put them there. He said it would be useful when the borders are open again and we reclaim our submerged land. I guess it some robots that will help in some way..."
"..." Robin still looks in awe, something or someone closed an entire country! Like it raised raised the ground to make a bowl. She knows the reason for that." Pluton is here, right?" She turns to stare at Hiyori's eyes.
"Yes." She answers easily
"Did Hector-san take it?"
"He checked on it, to make sure it was safe, but never touched the subject." Hiyori looks thoughtful "My husband is a patient man who wouldn't mind explaining things slowly and step by step that even people like me would understand... All these things that he never said... I can only guess he wanted us to discover for ourselves... And make our own interpretations."
"..."
"The Void Century, the Ancient Weapons, the Last Island... He would explain to me how the stars burn and how the light takes years and years to reach this planet. He would tell me about things that I would never imagine... But these secrets, he wouldn't talk... Like he doesn't want to taint our perspectives with his words."
"..."
"I think he felt like an Outsider... If I hadn't snared him with a child, I think he would get even less involved, Fufu~" Hiyori laughs at her own joke.
"..." Robin keeps a blank expression. On her face, her mind running a mile for a second. She is one of the people that are the most aware of the secrets of the words...
Many pieces of the puzzles are falling into place. She is very close to accomplishing her dream.
"Let's go. The Poneglyphs are just a little below here." Hiyori resumes her descent, making the archaeologist follow her.
.....
Back to the Thousand Sunny, the full crew of the Strawhat Pirates is in the Middle of a meeting.
"Aaah~ This place is nice~" Nami says refreshed after a good bat in an onsen.
"The library is great too! You have to check it later, Robin!" Chopper exclaims
"Fufu~ I will do it later, but we have some things to talk about before that."
"What happened with the cook?" Zoro asks as he looks down on the depressed Sanji.
"He saw his sister, and like any other girl, she appears to be infatuated with Hector." Ussop explain
Sanji hits the ground with his forearm "That dammed Hector, how can he be so Lucky to have two beautiful wives like that?!" He curses the man "And my sister, and Stussy-san, and all other others! Grrrrrr. While I was suffering in that hell, he was living his best life! I hate him! I envy him! I want to be him!!!"
"...It would be good for you to not badmouth the man too much. People here respect him a lot." Jinbe advises "Much like in Fishman Island."
"Yes, we are gonna stay here for some months, so no need to antagonize the hero of our hosts." Nami warns the dumb ones of the crew
"Yeah... Do you guys know that there's a guardian that is water? Literally the water around the country!" Ussop adds fearfully "We can never leave without his permission!"
"It's not a surprise that he did that..." Robin comments absentmindedly
"What do you mean, Robin?" Nami asks
She looks at them before sighing "The first time I met Hector he sounded like a very free-spirited guy on a vacation... Going around doing whatever fancies him."
Some people nod in confirmation.
"Then suddenly he destroyed the World Government." Robin says "I remember some days before when he visited the Revolutionary army, he went to talk with Dragon about something..." Then she blushes a little
On that day, she tried to eavesdrop on the conversation but all her ear could hear was a very close whisper of "Naughty~" Then Hector licked and nibbled on her ear lightly, the sensation traveled through her entire body that day. She was exposed and discovered nothing.
"*Ahem* Calculating the time, it coincides with the earlier stages of the pregnancies of his wives..." She closes her eyes to center herself before explaining
"So you mean..." Nami is catching up.
"Trees that give unlimited snacks anywhere, a cloud that controls the Weather and can transport people, water that will never let them drown, floating islands filled with interesting things that don't exist here..." Robin says seriously "This whole place is one big playground to them... To his kids."
"..."
"He even destroyed the whole World order because of them. So I think we should be good at not messing with them. He probably feared that something similar to what happened with Roger and Ace would repeat itself..."
"..."
"Okay, I will stop trying to make Ken-chan take me to the Treasury." Nami raises her hands in the air.
.....
Somewhere on Wano
Kenshin was observing a line of ants when he felt something weird.
"?" He reaches his shoulder with his small hand, and then he looks around.
He suddenly feels like he is being observed, that someone is close...
Then suddenly a burst of energy emanates from his body.
"Whoa!" He exclaims in shock, that he never felt better, like he is being lifted in some way. He also feels some extra things... He can't explain exactly...
In some way, he is being passively upgraded...
Like a game that wasn't played for a long time, all the patches catching up with him... Similar to the internet that can download the upgrades, it's like Kenshin is finally connected with something... Or someone.
On another corner of Wano, Ryusukue feels something similar.
No one noticed the small crack high in the sky... Like reality is breaking. Then some fingers appear from the other side and start stretching the crack.
On Oden's Castle, Hiyori was looking at the Horizon through a window. Reminiscing a little while enjoying the scenario, a visage that she enjoyed a lot in the past with a certain someone.
Her eyes then widen, she can feel a presence in the room... He is not trying to hide from her, he is just behind her... But she is afraid to be a trick of her mind... She is afraid of looking back and seeing nothing there. Not seeing him...
"Sorry for my tardiness..." She can hear his voice from behind her. Like how she remembered it, but something more... A certain weight that can only grow with the experiences of life
"I was trapped in a dead dimension slaved by outer gods..." He says like he was stuck in the traffic. He probably is the only one that can say something so ridiculous and be serious.
Hiyori can't help but laugh at his tone, she feels his hands touching her waist and she can't help herself in leaning on him. She still didn't look back, but as he hugged her from behind she could say that his build had grown. He is taller, and more muscular... But the warmth coming from him is the same.
"If this is a dream, can you let sleep a little more..." Her words are soft as she closes her eyes and relinquishes in the feeling.
"I will make your whole life a dream, my love." He whispers to her "This time, I'm here to stay, and no one in all creation can deny me that."
.....
A.N.: Hope you all enjoyed.
Ah, there's another novel I wasl posting in QQ, that I put the chapters here in Webnovel too.
If you guys like JJK and Waifu Catalogue, the name is "Potential Man"
And the schedule of the chapters will be weekly, but the chapters will be a little smaller to balance.
Bye bye, till next time.
Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen
Kommentar absatzweise anzeigen
Die Absatzkommentarfunktion ist jetzt im Web! Bewegen Sie den Mauszeiger über einen beliebigen Absatz und klicken Sie auf das Symbol, um Ihren Kommentar hinzuzufügen.
Außerdem können Sie es jederzeit in den Einstellungen aus- und einschalten.
ICH HAB ES