Odd Eye (One Piece Fanfic)

-10- Oni Oni no; Onikakushi.

"WAIT, YOU!! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Cross was quickly surrounded by Marine Soldiers. They brandished their swords and cocked their guns in unison. Cross turned to face them and held his hands up in a surrender.

"Sorry, I actually didn't have a plan, can I do that again?" he grinned bashfully.

The whole crew could have toppled over at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"What did you do?" the Lieutenant of the ship demanded. Shooting a look at the Lock, he spat, "how did you get out of your chains?"

Cross placed his hands behind his back and smiled casually. "I was getting bored of sitting around, so I kinda Tagged Out."

"Tagged Out?" the Lieutenant repeated with an inquiry.

In three quick and instant steps, Cross was right before the Lieutenant. He gasped and shot back, but Cross placed a hand at his shoulder and smiled toothily.

Then he backed off in three short leaps.

The Lieutenant, tutting and grasping at his composure, stood firm. Cross had made it before him in an instant-- that meant Cross was no lowly pirate-- nameless, but he was a threat-- to the ship as a whole. It didn't feel good to leave him free of chains.

"Fire at him!" he ordered.

Triggers were quickly pulled, a circle with Cross at the center--

Cross chuckled, "I really don't think you should be so hasty, y'know?"

ー

Cross vanished-- and in his place, the Lieutenant found himself standing. 

"Wha-"

The flurry of gunfire-- all bullets that would have been an instant death for Cross-- they headed straight for the Lieutenant instead. A howl filled the air, and everyone was frozen in horror. 

The Lieutenant dropped to the ground, and a sick pool of red grew beneath him.

Cross laughed nervously, "I don't want any bullet holes in my jacket, y'know... I mean, Takara spent quite a lot of beri to buy this for me..."

Head swirled around in horror and everyone shot back. Cross was right beside them, standing in the position the Lieutenant had been-- Panic ensued.

"Who are you?"

"What are you?"

"What did you do?"

Cross held up both hands in a mock surrender again. 

"So once upon a time, I ate a durian," he began, sitting down casually as if he weren't in the middle of a battle. "I thought the rotten flavour was normal, but then Takara told me that durians aren't red and its meat wasn't supposed to be blue, so."

"No way-" someone had finally figured it out,

"They weren't a myth?" another piped in, "The Devil Fruits?"

"I ate the Oni-Oni no Mi, so I'm an Onikakushi (to spirit away) human," Cross explained, "And as of this moment... anytime you fire at me, I can just tag out with someone before your shots reach me. So you're better off keeping your weapons off me, eh?"

"What are you planning?!?" a braver soldier yelled.

"Planning?" Cross giggled, "but you're the ones that took me up this ship."

ー

Titus, climbing up to the deck of the Marine ship with a rope, gaped at the scene.

He was only peeking a little past the sides to survey the area-- but nope, he has to witness firsthand the murder of a Marine Lieutenant by his own soldiers and--

"Go on, shoot me," Cross declared loudly with his smile-- his bright, beaming smile filled with the purest of innocence-- "If you dare, that is."

Soldiers had run in orderly madness, going to the deck, calling for their captain. Half maintained their positions, wary of letting the Devil Fruit user run rampart anytime faster-- 

This wasn't the Grand Line, after all, Titus mused, soldiers aren't used to fighting Devil Fruit Users at all. And Cross was taking advantage of that fact. 

They didn't know how to fight against Cross when they didn't know the limits of his capabilities.

Titus gulped. 

"Damn, the bad feeling I got from that kid was right."