BUGGY'S SHOW EPISODE 1

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Buggy show!" the pirate captain screeches. His jovial face presses against the camera, his shifty eyes watching the invisible audience on the other side of the lens. Sporting a bright red nose, the amiable host introduces himself as Buggy the Clown.

"Will you stop? There's no one watching you make a fool of yourself." His reluctant partner slouches in the shadows. Narrow eyes, slicked black hair and the complete opposite of Buggy. His round-rimmed glasses gleam, making him quite terrifying to look at. "Except me."

"Don't mind Kuro, folks! He's just sour because it's my show!"

"No one's listening." Kuro rubs his temples and looks away. "And don't call me that."

Buggy bites his cheek. He didn't sack this dingy shack for nothing. It was a rare find: an abandoned studio, ripe for imagination to bring it to life. "You're spoiling my show!" he snaps.

Kuro glares at him with eyes full of condensation. "The roof is falling apart. The tiles are wet and soggy. Ivy is growing in the corner, and the 'camera' was something I made from cardboard." His tone is dead. Even Buggy feels despondent. "You took the only building that wasn't occupied by the Marines."

"…That makes it more fun, Mister Negative," Buggy hisses. Why was Kuro here again?

"You dragged me here, remember?" Kuro says, as if reading his mind. Or rather, his expression. "You threw a stink bomb at my ship and knocked my crew out with sleeping gas. I'm here until I get my reparations."

"I never did any of that." Buggy suddenly finds the squishiness of his nose very interesting. "I just asked you if you wanted to be a co-host in my new show! You just took it the wrong way."

"I see. Then there must be another reason why you shredded my sails and smashed my steering wheel." He raises a thick eyebrow at the clown. "Why don't you enlighten me, hmm? Before I do take it the wrong way." Kuro casually shifts the flax bag he carried with him. Clank. Clank. It sounds like knives slicing across each other.

Buggy bounces over to the camera. "You're such a pessimist! With just a little love and care, we can transform this into our own show!" He nestles his hands under his chin. "Some tender love! Like it's our baby!"

"I don't have time for this," Kuro mutters, suppressing a shudder. His face takes on a sickly blue hue. "Either you give me by payment, or I'll destroy this place."

Buggy gasps. "You wouldn't dare!" But everything about Kuro's expression tells him otherwise. The Black Cat Captain's hands are tense, as if itching to pull out his claws and trash Buggy before he can blink. "A-actually, hear me out. We just need to fix this place up, and I'll be raking in Berries! I was born to take the stage! I have this all planned out! Trust me!"

Kuro didn't need to roll his eyes for Buggy to know his extreme exasperation. "You? Plans? Two words that make no sense together."

"Excuse me? You're just upset because you lost your girlfriend to the Straw Hat brat!"

"She's not—" Kuro's lips twitch, but he bites his tongue before the next words rumbles out. Buggy grins. Nothing like twisting the knife in the old wound, even if it's not remotely close to the truth. "I'm done." Kuro stands up, gathers his stuff, and walks away.

"What? Wait!" Buggy runs to the door and extends his hands. "What about my show?"

"Why don't you get the other pirates to help you? I'm sure they'll appreciate wasting their time with this charade." Kuro chuckles, eyes flashing menacingly. "I'll spare your place. It's too pathetic for me to destroy, anyhow."

"Kuro!" Buggy wails. The man recoils as Buggy latches onto his body with his detached limbs. "You have to help me! Be a friend! Be a pal! This is my lifelong dream, and you're the only one who can help me achieve that!" He's lying. Even the Master of Lies knows that Buggy's lying. "They all scoffed at my idea! You're the only one that listened to me!"

"Because you ripped up my sails and trashed my crew!" Kuro snaps. He shakes Buggy loose, but the clown grips his leg as if his life depends on it.

"Then fate brought us here! Join me, Captain Kuro! And we'll become celebrities in the Pirate World!"

"No!"

"Too bad!" Buggy swipes the bag of claws—attempted to swipe. Kuro throws Buggy aside with a forceful roundhouse kick. The clown crashes into his hastily-made equipment. Swoosh. Long, sharp knives flash in the air. Swish. The camera tumbles like a falling tower of cardboard. Potted plants shatter in an explosion of dirt and flowers.

"Stop!" Buggy screeches. "You destroyed my studio!" Before his eyes lie the ruins of his dream. Dust crumbles down from the ceiling. His equipment are broken, littered about the ground like grass clippings after a windy day. His self-promotional posters are beyond repair to where his beautiful jaw is hanging hazardously from his beautiful face.

"My dream! My one escape from this wretched pirating life!" Buggy crawls to his camera, tears streaming down his face. "I… I just wanted to be different… I wanted to beat that cursed Shanks… I…" He sniffs loudly. "I just wanted to be happy!"

Kuro watches him cradle the shattered lens in his arms. "You monster! You ruined my dreams! You trashed my house!" Buggy's usually jovial expression darkens. "We would've been a great duo! We could've been friends if you hadn't showed your true colors! I-I thought I could trust you!

"But I was wrong!" Buggy shoots to his feet. "Get out! Get out of my sight! And you deserved whatever happened to you!" Kuro cold mask didn't falter. Instead, the Pirate Captain puts away his claws and slams the door behind him.

Curse that man! I thought I could get him to help me! The ruins around him prove otherwise. Never trust a liar! But before Buggy can continue, there is a thup on the door. Shoot! The Marines?

The door flies open, and Kuro storms in with something behind him. A camera. A tripod camera with a brilliant black sheen and gleaming lens. Wait. There's more: A rug. Drapings. Tables. Cups and dishes. Dressings. A vacuum cleaner.

Buggy's jaw must have remained open for the longest time. He watches as Kuro drags a water dispenser into the room and throws Buggy a broom.

"W-where… wha…."

"It doesn't matter where how I got them," Kuro says quickly. He didn't look at Buggy as he sinks down to a chair and opens a book. "Well? I can't work in a cluttered environment."

The recognition slowly dawns in Buggy's eyes. "Kuro… Kuro you… you did all this for… for meeeeee?" His voice squeaks. "I knew it would work!"

"What?"

"Nothing like sweeping the floor!" Buggy coos. "Sweeping all the dirt into place and throwing away all this junk!" He sings as he sweeps. Just imagine what this little studio could turn out to be! Imagine all the fans he'll get and the figurines!

"I'm just staying here until I get my reparations," Kuro repeats, looking up from his book. "And stop grinning at me. It's unnatural."

"Of course, buddy!" Kuro frowns and buries his head into the book. He mutters something too low for Buggy to hear, but the clown happily continues cleaning the room.

"Hey, Kuro."

"…What is it?"

"Why do I have to be the one that's sweeping? Shouldn't you do it since you were a bu—"

"I can leave anytime I want, and I can make this whole place disappear before you even bat an eye." Kuro adjusts his glasses with his palm, but never spares Buggy a glance.

"—a bombastic team player!" Buggy laughs.

And that was how Buggy's dream began.