Chapter 4: The Vengeful Swordsman

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece.

The city was always busy around summertime. Due to all the heat, a lot of people stayed inside when they could and spent their money on food, drink and entertainment. Most of those people were either pirates, bounty hunters or wanted criminals. The establishments reallly didn't care about the background of their customers, just as long as they paid their bills.

As people went about their business, a man walked into a restaurant and took a seat right at the bar. A waitress noticed the newcomer and smiled as she approached him, "Hello sir, what can I get you?" she asked politely. He looked different compared to the other people she'd seen before. He had blonde hair that was slicked back, was wearing blue jeans with matching jacket, and a black shirt under it. She also noticed that he carried two swords with him at his belt.

"Get me some meat and grog...," he said in a level tone. The waitress nodded and went into the kitchen. The blonde man pulled out a small book from his jacket and skimmed through it while waiting for his order to come. A few minutes later, the waitress came back with a plate of meat and a mug of grog. "Here you are sir," she said as she placed the meal in front of him. She looked at the book and raised an eyebrows, "The Sword Collector's Guide? Are you looking for anything in particular?" she asked.

The man looked up at her, "Yes...yes I am," he said quietly, taking the mug in his hand. "May I ask what you're looking for?" the waitress asked slowly. Again, he looked at her, "I'm looking for swords...happy now?" he growled. The waitress scowled, "You don't have to be so harsh about it, I was just trying to make innocent conversation!". The man glared at her with a look that made her face drain itself of all color, "I don't care...I want to eat, and be left alone, now LEAVE ME ALONE!" he snapped.

The poor waitress nodded and went to some nearby customers while the blonde man put away his book and started to devour his food. When the waitress made it back behind the counter, the manager nodded to the blonde man, "He giving you trouble, Yamiko?" he asked, concerned. The waitress, Yamiko, shook her head, "Not really...he's just not one to talk to others I suppose. I know I haven't seen him before, but he looks so familiar...," she said thoughtfully.

The manager looked straight at the man, "I dunno about that, Yamiko, but if he gives you any trouble, just tell me and I haul him out," he told her. Yamiko nodded and went on with her duties. Meanwhile, the blonde man was finishing up his meal when he felt someone approach him from behind. He swallowed the last piece of meat and turned his head to see a group of men in well worn clothes and smirks on their faces.

"Can I help you?" the blonde man asked, turning around on the stool. The leader nodded, "Aye, you can, lad. You can come with us so that we can collect the bounty on your head!". The blonde man's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?". The group of men looked at each other while the leader chuckled, "You heard me...Devon the Demon,".

Yamiko and the manager stood behind the counter, eyes wide. "Devon...the Demon?" the manager gasped. Yamiko glanced to the wall where a lot of WANTED posters were, now remembering where she had seen this man before. Her eyes rested on a worn poster that had the picture of a man with holding two swords in front of him like an X. He was wanted by the Navy for commiting a slaying rampage and the reward was over 90,000 Beli!

Devon looked the group over, and smiled, "Not worth my time...get outta here," he said, turning back around, "More meat," he ordered. Yamiko nodded and bolted to the stove while the group of bounty hunters reached for their swords. "Please! No killing in here, take it outside!" the manager pleaded, putting his hands together and bowing. Devon grabbed his mug, "That's not necessary...I have no reason to fight these men...so I won't cause trouble for you,".

As he raised his glass to drink, the lead bounty hunter brought down his sword on it, shattering the mug into dozens of sharp shards. The manager of the restaurant slowly disappeared behind the counter while Devon stood up and faced them. "I'm giving you one last chance to get out of here with all your body parts attached...take it," he warned.

Yamiko came back at that moment with another order of meat and noticed the mess. "Oh dear...," she murmured. The head bounty hunter drew his blade and pointed it directly at Devon's heart. "C'mon Demon...show me the rage you're famous for," he challenged. Yamiko backed away as far as she could when Devon placed his hands on his swords.

"Fine...you've signed your death warrant, but we do this outside," he hissed, turning to the door. The bounty hunter nodded, "Fine...," he agreed.

Devon stood at one end of the street, his blonde hair moving a bit because of the wind and his eyes staring at the group of hunters ahead of him. "I'm gonna enjoy taking your corpse in for the reward, Demon!" the leader said loudly as he twirled his blade around while the other hunters just stayed back. "Delusions of grandeur, that's what you have, fool," Devon muttered as he pulled out his weapons.

The blades gleamed as the sunlight shined on them. Yamiko and the manager peeked out the window of their cafe to see how things would turn out. "Um...even if he loses this fight, what do we do?" Yamiko asked her boss. The manager shook his head, "I dunno...let's just watch and see what happens," he whispered.

The hunters laughed at Devon's blades. "THOSE are what you have to defend yourself? You must be joking!". Devon looked down at his swords to see that they did look old. Some parts of each blade was rusted with dried blood while others were chipped off. "That can't really be the Demon, boss...there's no way he could kill anyone with those swords," one of the hunters pointed out.

His boss smacked him upside the head, "That IS the Demon, idiot. I know that face like the back of my hand!" he snarled. Devon tapped the blades together, "Are we going to do this or not?" he called out to the leader. The boss of the hunters gripped his sword and ran at the Demon as fast as he could. Devon crouched, his weapons pointed outward. "Come and get it...," he whispered as his opponent came closer

Just as the bounty hunter came into range, Devon brought the tips of his swords together and rushed him. "DIE DEMON!" the bounty hunter screamed at the top of his lungs. Devon grinned right before the two of them passed one another, a sharp ringing filling the air. Yamiko saw the both of them swing at each other, but she couldn't tell if they connected. Both the hunter and Devon stood at their full height, their weapons still held tight.

Within a few seconds, Devon's swords broke into peices and clattered to the ground. This made the other hunters hold their sides, laughing. He grinned, "Small price to pay...," he stated. Yamiko frowned, "What's he mean by that?" she wondered aloud. She turned to look at the boss of the bounty hunters and she immediately wanted to throw up. Blood was spurting from all sorts of cuts just as he started to slide to the left, right, and everywhere else. The body landed in the street, in at least five different pieces.

The Demon turned to the group of hunters, "You guys want some too?" he asked loudly. His response came as terrified screams while the group rushed off into the distance, leaving a dust cloud behind them. The blonde swordsman shook his head and walked over to the corpse of his opponent and took out the sword collecting book from his jacket. He picked up the hunter's sword and skimmed through the book.

"Dammit...this ain't one of them either. Oh well," he shrugged as he took the sword for his own. As he walked back to the restaurant, Yamiko and the manager made sure that they weren't barring his path. "Sorry 'bout that...," he apologized before entering the restaurant to eat his second helping of meat. Yamiko nodded, "Uh...no problem...," she said quietly before looking at her boss, "So what now?" she asked him. The manager cleared his throat and rubbed his hands together nervously, "We don't piss him off," he suggested.

Kilnorc: there's that chappy, hope it's good! ja ne!