Odd Eye (One Piece Fanfic)

-24- So you're Telling me; they're just Superstitious.

"So, before the Yun clan came--"

"That irritating old person guy with the weird long white beard thingie?" Cross inquired, swing out of a branch like a monkey to reach a farther branch.

"Yeah, yeah," Luz grumbled, "before him, there was another elder in this country, and he was called Elder Mikazuki. At the time, the clan was known as the Shikke clan, and we were apparently quite open to trade with other countries, so despite being a ninja country we've got noble mansions and strange cultures too."

"Apparently, you say," Takara sighed, struggling to catch up from the ground. Unlike the other two, he couldn't just jump around from tree to tree, he wasn't a monkey, so yeah, he was slowing everyone down. No one mentioned it, they just stalled their pace so he could keep up-- which made him feel worse about it.

"When Elder Yun came by, he hated us," Luz stopped, sullen, "because we adopted traditions that neglected the sacred traditions of the Shinobi. So they drove out the royalty and eradicated the Shikke Clan."

The story had darkened considerably.

"What about... The witch thing?" Takara spoke up carefully.

"Its in our blood," Luz explained, "the Shikke's Healing-- Chiryouito, an ability that can seal any open wound by the nerves. Elder Yun saw that as witchcraft and refused to accept us," he gritted his teeth, punching the ground. "The Shikke were a peaceful party-- we stood no chance in an offensive war. So we lost, simple as that."

His next next stumbled, the branch shuddering as his foot slipped in the rain-- failing to gravity, he plunged into the bushes--

Takara dove forward, catching him on pure instinct.

"Wooah! Cross, wait on us," Takara called after the younger boy, turning to the white-haired boy now sprawled over his lap, "you alright? For a ninja, you're one clumsy guy, aren't you?"

Luz shot up, blushing, "oh, shut it!"

He got up quickly.

Extending a hand in Takara's direction, Takara took the hand gratefully as Luz helped him up.

"Our mother's name was Ray, and she was the only one that survived," Luz told him softly, "they thought she died, so they think Visul is her ghost. They think she's a witch that resurrected herself." 

"A ghost?" Cross hung upside down from a branch, his sudden appearance making the other two yelp in surprise, "they're scared of ghosts?"

"It's a magical ghost, Cross," Takara added in, "they probably think she has the ability to call upon the waves and destroy the universe or something."

"That's pretty accurate, actually," Luz agreed with a solemn nod, "so they're gonna burn her down on a stake before she can do it."

"Burn? in a rainy country?" Cross gawked. "Wait, are you a witch too, Luz?"

"We're not!" Luz snapped, fists clenched, teeth gritting annoyed.

"Then what was that  magic glowing needle string thing you did to Titus?" Cross tilted his head aside, curious, "that wasn't magic?"

"None of it is magic!" Luz groaned.

Takara placed a hand at his shoulder with a sigh, "Now now Luz," he soothed, "let's call it magic to make things easy."

Luz sighed in utter resignation.

"I'm a magician," Luz decided, "but it's a secret from the villagers."

Cross flipped around so fast. "A secret!" he gleamed, "cool!"

Luz was baffled, turning to Takara in hope of some miraculous explanation, but the red-haired man could only shrug in resignation.

"That girl-- Visul," Takara looked toward the mansion, "why isn't she just running away? You and her-- you could've left the island a long time ago. I don't see why you didn't."

Luz climbed up the tree, holding onto a branch. A signal that they had to keep moving. Cross swirled up, hopping to the next tree. Takara sighed, continuing his arduous climb.

"The Shikke are bound by a law," Luz admitted, "it's an ancient law-- one that tells to live and die on the same ground."

Takara remembered it. He and Visul had fought over it.

"Visul and I have Shikke blood in our veins. We're the last ones to ever have this blood in our veins," Luz explained, "we promised to never let this bloodline die out. If we don't uphold this tradition, who would?"

"But if you stay here, both of you are going to die!" Takara raised his voice, "do you want to die here like this, today?"

Luz was silent.

"Is this shitty town worth dying for?" Takara grunted, "your house-- it's just a stinkin' old shed, isn't it? Your sister's enjoying a mansion up there. Why aren't you living together, then?"

Luz stopped moving, sending a glare in Takara's direction.

"His house is the most conspicuous spot in town," Cross supplied. 

His tone was deep and stern.

Luz shot up, alarmed.

"I noticed when I was going there--" Cross told Takara, "it's near the sea and away from the town, yet there are no trees in the way. There's a watch tower in the village, so anyone can see where he goes when he does move about. They also noticed instantly when there was a light in the mansion."

"They watch my house and the mansion very closely," Luz admitted grimly, "I'm hardly a resident of the village, I'm just a prisoner of war."

Now the situation was in light-- and Takara had a grasp of what exactly was going on.

"Wait, where does Visul come into all of this?" he lifted his head, "it was your mother that died, why is Visul the one being seen as a ghost?"

"Visul's an expert at the Chiryouito art, ever since we were young," Luz mumbled, "so she was hidden from the villagers and she never left the house. They never knew I had a sister, so they thought Visul was my mother."

A crackle; an explosion.

The scenery behind them burst into bright blue flames, erupting in flares of hell sizzling toward the heavens. 

The mansion was on fire in nothing but an instant they had looked away.

"Wha-- how did they set that fire when it's still raining?" Takara was appalled, filled with disbelief, "and it's blue?"

"Fuck, the Yun clan's using their goddamn Ninjutsu," Luz grumbled, "enough talking, you guys wasted my fucking time! Visul's still in there, c'mon!"

Luz leaped forward, quickening his pace.

Takara tutted. "Cross, we have to--" 

He swirled his head around.

"Wait, where's Cross?"