37 Shame of a Swordsman
The weather took a turn for the worse. Snow rained down from the clouds and the wind howled like a terrible beast.
"This isn't looking good. It's starting to show signs of an incoming blizzicane out there." Dalton said.
"What the heck is a blizzicane?!" Usopp asked, frightfully.
"It's like a mix between a blizzard and a hurricane, but it's easily worse than the sum of its parts. Snow will pile up anywhere from 3 to 5 meters high and hail the size of cannonballs will be thrown around by hurricane winds. They happen about once every few decades here, but the last one was only 10 years ago. Very unlucky." Dalton explained.
"Your friends might be in serious trouble. Being exposed to the elements in this weather is deadly and trying to fly in winds like these will be nearly impossible." Dalton worried.
"Don't worry about them, Cabernet is a tough girl. If worse comes to worst, she can give shelter and warmth to the other 3." Although Cherry spoke confidently, she was somewhat worried. Cabernet was pretty stupid after all, she might decide to push onwards and end up crashing into the mountain.
"How long do these storms usually last? I do not have any time to waste..." Vivi asked, realizing she might get trapped here while a war rages in her homeland.
"The longest on record only lasted half a day, thankfully. If they lasted too long, no one could survive here." Dalton's words made Vivi sigh in relief.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
Someone knocked the door like their life depended on it. Dalton opened to see one of the militia members gasping for breath.
"What's wrong?" Dalton's brow furrowed, he didn't like how this day was going and felt it would be getting worse.
After the man caught his breath enough to speak, he spoke with a frightened look. "I-its Wapol! Wapol has come back and he's here in Big Horn!"
Dalton's face hardened. Truly this day could not get any worse, he wasn't sure if he could handle Wapol and his men by himself. Regardless, he would still try. He owed at least that much to his people.
He turned to Vivi, Usopp, and Cherry. "I have something to take care of, you may stay here if you wish."
He turned and left his home, knowing it may be the last time he ever see it.
Cherry looked at Usopp and Vivi. "Well? Do you think we should help out? Dalton looked like a man taking a step into his own grave just then. He's certainly been more hospitable than we can expect that fool Wapol to be."
"O-of course we should help!" Usopp stuttered.
"Hehe, you'll make for a fine warrior of the sea, Usopp. Bravery does not mean the absence of fear, but to stand up in spite of it."
Vivi gave a resolute nod, she remembered the way Wapol acted at the last Levely she attended. She was not keen on the idea of him regaining his abandoned throne.
Cherry smiled. "Let's go."
...
High up in the air, a winged ship was struggling to fly straight while being battered by tremendous winds.
Luffy was having the time of his life, but Sanji showed more concern. "Can you hold more steady, Cabernet? Nami isn't strong enough to take this jostling around." He asked delicately.
"The wind is too strong and it's getting stronger." Cabernet groaned. "I'll have to land before I crash."
"Back to plan A then? Luffy get ready, we'll have to hike the rest of the way." Sanji said.
Cabernet set down onto the ground. Once Sanji, Luffy, and Nami were disembarked, she transformed back into her human shape.
The wind was not so bad on the ground as the trees around them acted as a wind break. They stayed close to Cabernet as she naturally released a fair amount of heat from her flames.
Something launched out of the snow at them and was caught out of the air by Cabernet.
"It's soooo CUTE!" Cabernet squealed and she spun around holding a white rabbit as it struggled in her grasp.
"Oh, that would make for a good stew." Sanji noted. The rabbit stiffened and started to cry as if it understood him.
"Mm?" Luffy tilted his head.
Dozens of bear-like figures stood up out of the snow. They looked awfully angry, especially the one with a scar over its left eye.
"Polar bears?" Sanji suggested.
"BUNNIES!!! HAHAHAHA!" Cabernet charged into the bear-sized rabbits laughing, which caught them off guard. They prepared to attack the cackling woman.
The scarred rabbit swung wide at her, but she blocked it with a raised arm fairly easily. "OH?! You want to play with me?! Okay, I won't go easy on you!" Cabernet challenged.
"Go on ahead, Luffy. Cabernet and I will handle these rabbit-bears. Nami is you first priority, remember they every blow you deal or take will affect her as well!" Sanji stated and launched into the fray as well.
Most of the huge rabbits, or Lapins as they are know to the locals, were distracted by Cabernet's assault. Sanji fought defensive for Luffy to keep Nami safe.
The Lapins gave up on the direct confrontation, seeing that it wasn't going well. Instead they used their superior agility to move ahead of the group to employ an alternative strategy.
"They stopped chasing us, but what are they doing all the way up there?" Sanji wondered aloud.
"Hopping?" Luffy suggested.
The land above them seemed to shift downwards suddenly. A great deal of snow broke loose and accelerated towards them.
"Avalanche!" Sanji screamed in horror.
Cabernet didn't know what an avalanche was or why it was bad, but she could infer that the snow rushing down towards them was bad. She scooped up the other three and flapped her wings, bringing them off the ground.
The wind was just too fierce and the higher she rose the harder it became to remain aloft. She rushed over to a large boulder that the snow was moving around. However, the Lapins soon came surfing down the mountain on broken logs and attacked them once more.
...
Down in the town of Big Horn, Dalton face Wapol and his men. He had intended on taking Wapol by surprise, but he was intercepted by a swordsman he had never seen before who slashed him across the chest.
"Good job, Jaxin! Mahaha! This is how a real royal guard should be!" Wapol laughed.
Something flew towards Jaxin, but he easily batted it away. He looked to the source to find Usopp quaking in his boots.
"You wanna die?!" Jaxin seethed.
"Now, now. Why don't you pick on someone your own size." Cherry answered.
Jaxin was about to mock the 'little girl' who said that, but when he got a good look at her, he paused.
His heart filled to the brim with hate upon seeing her visage that was so similar to Dracule Mihawk.
"Oh, this will be good. I'll take you up on the offer, little girl. My king, please go on ahead to reclaim the castle from that witch, I will deal with these malcontents." He said venomously.
"Mahaha! Right, these hooligans are beneath me! Deal with them, then come join us at the castle, Jaxin!" Wapol galloped away on Robson, his furry hippo mount.
Jaxin launched himself at Cherry, brandishing his sword. Cherry drew her own sword to meet his in several ferocious clashes. She was a bit stronger and faster, but he had something else that allowed him to keep up.
When he gave her a light slash across the arm in one of their clashes, she asked him with a frown. "Do you use Observation Haki?"
"Oh, you know about Haki do you? Yes I do, since you're asking that must mean you don't, hm? This'll be easy then, haha!" Jaxin replied. "You eyes look just like that bastard, Hawkeye's. I'm going to enjoy humiliating you and cutting those wretched eyes out of your head!"
"Oh, was Hawkeye the one who gave you that wound on your back?" Cherry smiled mockingly. She knew what such a thing meant to the swordsmen of this world. She decided to rile him up as much as possible to gain an advantage over him.
Jaxin trembled with anger. "Enough talk!"
Vivi, Usopp, the wounded Dalton, the townspeople, and a shirtless Zoro (who had just wandered into town) watched the duel take place from the sidelines.
