Never Skip Leg Day
Cold and wet. A perfect way to describe how Mako felt at the moment. With flashes of lightning, ear numbing rolls of thunder, and a seemingly endless onslaught of rain, the young man found himself in the middle of a raging storm. Not only was he soaked through down to the ass, but his head was throbbing, pulsing over and over again with an irritating amount of pain.
When he had been transported from the small room, it had been near instantaneous, meaning he had gone from dry and comfy to cold and wet in under a second. Along with the rain and wind, the headache had appeared out of nowhere, springing to life right when he arrived. There was no loss of consciousness or blackouts, just a swift change of scenery with a simple blink, such a sharp contrast to how things were shown in anime and manga.
"This headache is gonna be the death of me," Mako muttered, keeping his head lowered so as to not swallow any rain water. "Just got here and I'm already irritated. Damned thunderstorm!!"
Wiping away the water dripping into his eyes, Mako stood up straight, making the attempt to get a look at his surroundings. From what he could gather through the pouring rain, he seemed to be at the edge of a small forest, clusters of towering trees on one side while on the other he saw a whole row of neat houses and a wide lane in between separating the two. He couldn't garner much detail because of the storm but he had a gut feeling that the houses were well kept and maintained, indicating that they weren't deserted.
If there were houses, then there would be people. He would be able to use this chance to gather information such as which island he was on and begin obtaining the essential things for his survival such as food and water. Money was also necessary but he needed to focus on the prior objectives first so he didn't starve to death. Once everything was situated and his survival was guaranteed would he worry about everything else. He really didn't want to experience a second death.
Mako made his way forward, stepping through deep puddles and jumping over fallen logs. The uncomfortable feeling of wet socks was one thing he couldn't stand so, somewhere along the way, he ditched both his socks and his shoes. They were limited edition Bleach shoes that had been rather expensive, but it seemed rather silly to care about that in his current state. If anything, he could go back and get them when the rain stopped.
"Oh, and what are you doing out in the rain? More importantly, I've never seen someone like you here before." A voice, a throaty and deep voice, caused Mako to momentarily freeze in his tracks, the wet hairs on his ears and tail standing on end. A sense of danger began to creep up on him as the slish-slosh of puddles being stepped on was heard above the occasional crash of thunder. "I DEFINITELY never seen anyone in Gosa who has a tail. Are you from Cocoyasi?"
Before Mako could turn around, a large hand wrapped around his ankle and lifted him upwards, flipping him upside down. The grip strength caused Mako to wince a little, the immense pressure causing his bones to nearly snap in two.
Mako blinked the water out of his eyes, his blue hues focusing on the large figure in front of him. Rough blue skin, two fins located on the side of a large head, gills on either side of the neck, a large muscular build, webbed hands and feet, and sharp pointed teeth. The young wolf hybrid was staring at a genuine fish-man, one that he had only been able to see in the One Piece manga/anime.
Fish-man, a one of two of humanoid species that could live on land and in the sea. They were a race that far exceeded that of ordinary humans in terms of natural physical strength and speed whether it be land or in the water. An average fish-man was twice as strong as the average man, their physique putting them above most humans. Due to this fact, some groups of these aquatic humanoids believed that they were vastly superior to the pitiful species known as "humans" and had sought to enslave them. One of these groups was called the Arlong Pirates which was lead by none other then Arlong himself, a fish-man with strength beyond those of the same species.
Highly respected, cold, cunning, and a cruelty towards humans, Arlong was a fish-man who deserved his 20 million Belly bounty, having attacked and sunk many ships as well as enslaving the whole of the Conomi Islands. Whenever Mako thought of fish-men, he would always think back to this specific arc, it having left more an impression on him then any other involving the aquatic humanoids.
"Oi, did you not hear me?" The fish-man asked, giving Mako a shake, pain once again shooting through his leg. He knew that this guy was strong but it still amazed him just how much it hurt, the fish-mans grip was just too much. "Are you a mute? I honestly don't want to hurt you. Just answer my question."
Mako found that hard to believe but he didn't say anything about it, instead thinking about what the fish-man had said moments ago. Though being the strongest in his own world, Mako was only slightly smarter than a regular human. Only his memorization abilities could be considered to be top class, his comprehensive needing some work. However even if he was an idiot, which he wasn't, he could still piece together the words and deduce that he was at the edge of Gosa Village, the town next to Cocoyasi.
Firstly, the man had said it himself. He had never seen anyone who had a tail in Gosa, which meant that the town he was about to wander into was that very same place. It took very little guess work to figure out what was going on and for Mako, it took very little time. The only thing now was to confirm his suspicions.
"I'm sorry. I seem to have gotten lost," Mako said, making his expression into one of apology and politeness. It was hard for him to see through the blinding rain, but he was sure that the fish-man could see him without any problem at all. "I just have one question. Is today the day you guys collect the Belly? I'm just curious."
Seeing that this odd young man was complying, the fish-man relaxed a bit, his grip loosening. He hadn't been too sure who this guy was as he had never seen a human with a tail before, but seeing this human be so polite and apologetic, not to mention humble, he felt a bit better. Additionally, it was clear this human was a part of the Conomi islands or how else would he know about the fee the islanders had to pay. Still though, even with all that, he wasn't stupid enough to let him go as he still had his doubts. He had never seen a human who could look at him without even a hint of fear. In fact, this human even had an intelligent and calculating gaze to him, one that for some reason gave off a sense danger.
"Yes it is," The fish-man finally replied, his beady eyes trying to analyze the minute changes in the boys face. "Why are you even out here? It's been raining like this for quite some time. Did you walk all the way over here from the village in this weather?"
Mako ignored this question as he thought over what he had learned just now. So it was exactly as he thought. Not only was he on the Conomi Islands, but the situation seemed to be exactly as it was in the anime, with Arlong taking control and enslaving the people in the nearby islands. On the surface everything looked the same, but it would be foolish of him to think that it would be exactly similar to the manga. This an alternate world of One Piece meaning that he had to gain more information to further solidify his survival. In regards to this Fish-man though he had gathered all he was going to get, meaning it was time to make his escape.
"Look my guy," Mako said with a smile. "It's been fun but I should get going." Without another word, the young man used his free leg to kick as hard as he could at the fish-mans hand. He didn't know how much damage he could do so he aimed precisely for just a single finger for maximum effectiveness.
"Ahhh sh*t!!" The fish-man reflexively let go and grabbed his hand, allowing Mako to drop to the floor. "You little f*cker!! You're dead!"
Mako immediately took a fighting stance. He knew he running wasn't an option. As fast as he was, he couldn't see very well in the pouring rain and his superhuman senses such as smell and hearing were considerably dulled due to the roaring thunder and earthy scent surrounding him. As he had no confidence in his retreat, he had to subdue this guy before moving on. Though he knew he couldn't win in a contest of strength, his options were quite limited at the moment and there was very little time to find another route.
"Bring it on fam!!" Mako stood at the ready, water pouring down his face. Though he couldn't really see very well, he still knew his way around a fight. His instincts were on a different league compared to most others. "Lets see if you got what it takes."
Letting out a growl, the fish-man lunged forward, swinging his large fist out carelessly. Though his moves were rather sloppy compared to the martial artists in Mako's world, the sheer speed and power made up for it as the young man narrowly dodged it. He could even feel the wind from the punch as it sailed by. The disparity in abilities was made abundantly clear as Mako went on the defensive, ducking and twisting to avoid each and every strike. Dodging was made harder by the wind constantly blasting water into his face, making it almost impossible to gather himself for a counterattack.
Finally, after a full two minutes of constantly punching, the fish-man slipped up and put too much force into his fist, overshooting his target. Mako noticed it just in time as he ducked underneath the massive fist and grabbed the mans wrist. Using the weight and momentum generated from the forceful punch, Mako tightened his core and twisted, his calves and thighs screaming as the weight of the fish-man nearly crushed him. Using every last ounce of strength, Mako slammed the fish-man onto his back.
Without even waiting to catch his breath, Mako climbed on top of the fish-man and began to fiercely beat the mans face. Growing up, Mako had been taught to never kick a man while he was down, but in the face of his own survival, he decided to disregard this rule. It would be suicidal to believe that he defeated the fish-man from that one move. He had to ensure that the guy couldn't get back up and follow him or send out an alarm to Arlong before he could hide himself. Thoughts of killing the fish-man to buy extra time crossed his mind for a split second, but it was immediately shut down. He refused to cross that line unless he absolutely had to.
It wasn't that he was softhearted, but he didn't see the need to kill unless it was required. Killing this fish-man would only delay the inevitable by a few hours at most. There was no way he could hide the body, let alone bury it without having proper equipment such as a shovel.
Letting out a breath, Mako climbed off the now unconscious fish-man, blood coating his fists as he wiped the rain out of his eyes. "Whew," He muttered as he stood up straight. "Good thing I never skipped leg day. That could've turned out bad. Talk about heavy."
Standing in place for a few moments, Mako contemplated what to do next. His previous goal of finding food and water would have to be put on hold for the time being. Finding shelter and a hiding spot would have to be the main priority. Once the big guy woke up from his forced nap, he would immediately alert others and it would probably lead to a full scale manhunt in which even Arlong might join. Concealing himself would determine life or death for him.
However, he couldn't just choose any normal person as their fear of the fish-men would likely cause them to rat him out immediately. Relying on others would be a pain but he had to find somewhere to hide. In all honesty, his best bet would be to locate Nojiko, a character from the original One Piece world, and ask for assistance. The only problem with this would be that he was unsure if she would even exist in this alternate world. However, once again, he was short on options so this was one of the only ways he could think of. There was also another problem, where it wasn't clear if she would even help him or not, but he couldn't worry about that.
"Welp," Mako muttered as he walked over the unconscious body. "I guess it now or never. Time to roll the dice and test my own luck."
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