Author's Note: Here is a story that has kinda been in the works for months now. I just hadn't posted it yet. I really hope you all enjoy it! Here is the first chapter!! Please review! Flames and criticism are welcome! Enjoy! XD
The Transcending
Chapter 1: The Search
"Hurry Onii-chan! If we don't get to Hakubo-chan's place of meeting soon, we might get caught!" she called back.
"I know that! You don't think I don't know the situation! If anything, it's you I'm worried about!" he replied annoyed.
"What did you say?! Why you…" she yelled back.
"Will you just run?!" he retorted.
The two ran as fast as they could until they finally reached their destination. They slowed down and quietly stepped inside the bar pulling the hoods of their cloaks further over their faces as to not be seen. There were many crude faces looking back at them suspiciously. They walked forward and approached a small figure under a cloak. "Hakubo-san?" called the boy.
The figure turned and faced the two. She smiled with a warm and understanding smile, "Long time no see. It's so good to see you two again." she said warmly.
"It's good to see you again as well Hakubo-san." said the boy as he bowed to her.
"Hakubo-chan!" cried the girl as she threw herself at the woman. The woman smiled warmly as she hugged the girl back.
Then she pulled away and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "We must hurry, come!" she said as she grabbed both their hands and hurried out of the bar. She turned right and began to run, the two following behind her. "I know someone who is willing to help us. He is loyal to his Ousama after all." she called over her shoulder.
"Good, it's good to know there are still those who are loyal to my Otou-san!" called the boy to her as they ran.
"Yes, it's sad to know there are those out there who would want to hurt Otou-chan and Okaa-chan!" cried his sister from beside him.
"Indeed…" called the woman in front of them. They ran for about ten minutes before coming to a small house. She stopped running and walked to the door. She knocked twice, and then knocked three more times. A man opened the door and peeked a head out.
Once he saw who it was he smiled and opened the door further. "Please, come in." he said warmly as he stepped aside. They all stepped inside and the man shut the door and locked it. He seemed older than he was. He had dark brown hair that was graying at his temples. He was still well built and not bad to look at. He turned to them, "It is such an honor to have both the Ouji-sama and Hime-sama here in my little house!" he cried joyfully.
Both the boy and girl smiled at the ossan before them. "Please, Hakubo-san says you can help us. Is this true?" asked the young Prince.
"Of course I can, but we must do this quickly. They might already be on to us." said the man.
Just as the man made this statement someone began pounding on the door. "Open up! We know you're in there Caro!!" a man yelled from outside.
"Shimata! I knew it! Quickly!" exclaimed Caro nervously. He raised both arms and suddenly a strange image began to appear in between his arms. "Quickly jump inside!" he cried as the banging continued.
"Children, you must go!" cried the woman as her smile faded.
"What about you Hakubo-chan?!" cried the young Princess alarmed.
"Don't worry, I can take care of myself…" she said with a warm smile. The two were suddenly shoved into the image of a town.
The two fell face first onto the pavement of the town, "Ite!" they both cried as they grabbed at their noses.
"Ah! Hakubo-san!" yelled the Prince as he turned around. However the image was no longer there. "Haku…bo…san…" he whispered. Suddenly, Caro appeared before them. "Caro-san!" cried the Prince in surprise.
"Eh?! Caro-san! Why are you here?!" asked the Princess as she tilted her head to the side.
"Baka! How else do you think we would get back home?!" yelled the young Prince to his sister. She only narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips at him.
"We must go. Come." said Caro as he began to sneak from alley way to alley way, the two following along behind him.
"Caro-san? Why are we sneaking around?" asked the Princess curiously.
"We can't risk running into anyone here." he whispered back to them.
"Oh…" she said quietly, her brother frowning at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. He only narrowed his eyes at her.
Suddenly, Caro stopped and the two ran into him, "Itee!" they both cried yet again rubbing their damaged noses.
"Here is a hotel we can stay in. You must keep out of site as much as possible. If you are seen by the wrong people, it could cause some serious problems." he explained as he walked inside.
The Princess sighed heavily, "Well, that's no fun…" she whispered.
The Prince furrowed his brows at his sister. "What is it with you and always wanting to get yourself into trouble?!" he asked.
"Who said I like getting into trouble?! I just like doing things that are fun and exciting!!" she exclaimed with a grin.
The young Prince shook his head at his sister, "Baka…" he said under his breath.
"What did you say?!" she yelled.
"Please, Ouji-sama, Hime-sama we must stay quiet." Caro whispered to them.
"Hai, Caro-san…" they both replied back.
Caro approached the woman behind the desk. "How can I help you?" she asked him.
"We would like a room with two beds please." he asked her.
"Matte, two beds?!" asked the Prince.
"We have to stay together. We can not separate." he explained. "I will sleep on the floor." he continued.
"N…no…It's alright. We will share a bed." the Prince replied with a pained expression. The Princess pursed her lips at her brother from beside him. Caro nodded and turned back to the woman. She wrote down a name Caro gave her which was not his own. Then she handed him two keys and told him the room number. They climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked up to their room.
They walked in and Caro closed the door behind them. He walked over, plopped down on one of the beds and sighed heavily. "They should be some where in this town. We have to be tactful about how we approach them. They may not understand what we are doing or…about you. We must find them first. I'm pretty sure they are staying in a hotel further into town. At least that's what I was told." he explained to the two.
"Hakubo-san has excellent memory. I'm sure her information is accurate." replied the Prince.
"Yes, of course." replied Caro. "We should probably get something to eat before we start our search." said Caro as he reached for the den-den mushi next to one of the beds.
"Yahoo! Meshi!" cried the Princess. "I'm starving!" she exclaimed happily.
"You're always hungry…" said the Prince under his breath.
The Princess again stuck her tongue out at her brother, "You eat a lot too!" she cried in self defense.
"Yeah, but at least I have manners!" he shot back. Caro ordered a meal to be brought to them. As soon as the food was delivered to them, they ate.
"Ah! That was good!" cried the Princess as she pat her belly.
"Now, we must start our search immediately. We don't have any time to waste. Torobo should be here searching for them as well. Luckily, he doesn't have the information that we do. Let's go!" said Caro as he got up and was walking out the door. The Prince and Princess followed a long behind him.
Once outside, Caro turned to them, "It's probably best we separate. We can cover more ground that way. The hotel they are staying in is called The Twin Maidens. Once you find them just follow them around. See their routines. Then come and report back to me, okay? I need to see about Torobo. I need to see if he has found out anything or if he is even near by." explained Caro.
"Hai, Caro-san." they replied.
"Ouji-sama, must you wear that?" asked Caro.
"Aa! I will not take it off. It was a promise I made to my Otou-san." said the young Prince with a hard expression.
"I understand. Stay hidden." replied Caro and then they both ran off. "And stay out of trouble PLEASE! Don't let anyone see you!" cried Caro behind them.
"We can take care of ourselves Caro-san! There's no need to worry!" called the Prince behind him.
"I'm not worried whether you can take care of yourselves or not…I don't doubt that…" said Caro to himself quietly as he watched them disappear around a corner with a worried expression.
----
The Prince and Princess ran through the crowd until finally they began to near their destination. The Prince ducked behind and alley pulling his hood further over his face and his sister with him. He peeked around the corner. "You see anything, Onii-chan?" asked the Princess.
The Prince sighed to himself as his face drooped. "We just got here…No…of course I don't see anything…" he replied in a bored, impatient voice. He looked around some more. Then he grabbed his sister's hand. "Come on. Let's get a little closer." he said as he ran to another alley way. He peeked around the corner and looked around again. The Princess looked over and walked toward a trash can that was in the alley. She looked over the side and found something that interested her. She picked it up. It was a small doll that had a few missing buttons on the dress and a missing mouth. The dress was torn as well as a few of its appendages.
The Prince turned around to look at his sister. "What are you doing?!" he asked in a loud hushed voice.
"I'm just looking around!" she retorted.
"Put that back!" he demanded. She pursed her lips and tucked the doll under her arm.
The Prince glared at her. Since he was too busy paying attention to his sister, he didn't see his targets walking past them. They had come out of their hotel and disappeared into the crowd. He turned back around just as they disappeared.
They waited for hours but saw nothing. The Prince sighed to himself. "Hakubo-san said they usually go out into town around this time…" he whispered more to himself.
"Maybe we missed them…" replied his sister in a bored tone.
"We?! You aren't even keeping watch!! You're just playing with that stupid doll!" he yelled at her.
"Her name is Azuki!" she exclaimed as she played with the dolls hair.
"Azuki?! Did you just name that stupid doll after food?!" he asked loudly.
She slowly turned her head and glared at her brother, "Are you forgetting…?" she asked in a quiet voice.
A large sweat bead dropped on the side of his face. "Oh yeah…I forget sometimes…" he replied quietly with narrowed eyes.
"How could you possibly forget something like that…?" she asked as she continued playing with the doll. "Besides her eyes remind me of azuki." she continued.
He looked down at the doll, "Yeah…I guess they do…What am I saying?!" he exclaimed as he shook his head and looked back into the crowd. The Princess smiled at her brother's back before looking back down at the doll.
The Prince sighed. "I give up. Let's just go back to the hotel already." he said as he got up from crouching. The Princess also got up and dusted off her bottom.
She tucked the doll into her cloak's inner pocket and began to follow her brother out of the alley. "We can always try again tomorrow. Hakubo-san said they should be staying here for about two days. Tomorrow is the last day…" he said as he continued to walk.
"I remember…" replied the Princess as she followed her brother. "Onii-chan? Can we stop at a needlework shop?" she asked as they walked.
Her brother turned toward her, "Nani? Why?" he asked her with a slight frown.
"I wanted to get some thread and a needle to fix up Azuki." she explained. "She also needs new buttons for her dress." she continued.
The Prince narrowed his eyes at her. He turned around and continued walking, his sister on his heels. "Fine, but make it quick, understand?" he said as he kept walking.
"Yay! Arigato, Onii-chan!!" she exclaimed as she hugged his back.
He made a throaty noise, turned to her and then smiled. "You really are a brat, you know that?" he said to her as they continued walking.
"So are you!" she said laughing.
He smiled wider, "Yeah…so…" he replied.
They approached a needle working shop and walked inside. "Make it quick." he said as he stood at the door. He removed his hood. He figured they were far enough away not to get noticed.
"Hai!" exclaimed his sister who did the same and continued inside. She walked up to some thread and picked out the colors she needed to stitch up Azuki. She also grabbed some needles and picked out the perfect buttons for her dress. She walked up to the obaa-san behind the counter.
The very old looking woman looked up at her through her spectacles. "Can I help you, ojou-san?" she asked in a shaky voice.
"I would like to buy these, please." she said to the obaa-san with a smile.
"Hai…" she said and slowly reached for the items.
The Prince stood at the door looking out. He watched everyone who past. Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder. He turned toward his sister who was smiling back at him. "Get what you needed?" he asked her.
"Un!" she replied with a happy grin and nod.
He smiled back, nodded and then opened the door to leave. "Arigato, obaa-san!" she called as she walked out.
"Hai, please come again." said the old woman as she waved.
They continued their walk back to the hotel. He pulled the hood of the cloak back over his head as he walked, his sister doing the same.
----
They reached the hotel they were staying at and went inside. It was already getting dark. They had not accomplished their mission. Even if their targets had returned to the hotel, it wouldn't have done them any good. They needed to know routines are at least where they go. They needed to follow them for awhile. 'Caro had said they needed to be tactful about how they approached the targets. He was right. If their targets spotted them now, it could ruin everything.' he thought as he opened the door to their room.
Caro had not returned yet. The Prince fell on the first bed and stared at the ceiling. His sister walked around and sat at the small table in the room and began her needlework. He turned his head and watched her. She had learned how to do that from their Okaa-san, who was really good with needlework. Even though she was already seventeen, she still loved simple things like dolls. He didn't care for toys any longer, being seventeen as well. He was only about fifteen minutes older than his sister. They were twins. However, they looked nothing alike. He looked like his Otou-san, she like their Okaa-san. There were a few minor differences, nothing really major.
He watched as she expertly pulled the thread through the small hole of the needle and began her work. She gracefully rethreaded the mouth of the doll, and then she pulled the old buttons out and began sowing the new buttons on. His chocolate brown eyes continued to watch her as she finished up by stitching up the torn dress and the dolls slightly torn appendages.
After she was done she put down the needle and thread and then held the doll up for inspection. She grinned in satisfaction and then brought the doll to her bosom for a hug.
The Prince smiled at his sister and then his smile immediately disappeared. "You're too old for dolls, you know that, right?" he said lazily.
She turned to him as he still lay on the bed and pursed her lips. "Says who, you?" she retorted.
"No, the world did…" he replied lazily.
"Well, they're wrong…You can never be too old to love something, even dolls. Just because the world says you're too old for something, doesn't make it true. They are ignorant." she said in a serious voice. "Besides, I love dolls!" she exclaimed happily as if this fact made everything okay. She continued to hug the doll as her face softened. "They never lie to you…" she said quietly.
The Prince stared at his sister for awhile face expressionless, "I never lie to you…Otou-san and Okaa-san never lie to you…" he said quietly and seriously.
She raised her eyes back up to her brother, "I know…" she almost whispered. They stared at one another for a while before the Princess deflated, "I'm hungry…" she whined.
The Prince's face broke into a smile, "I know…You're always hungry. I'll order us something." he said as he sat up on the bed and reached for the den-den mushi. The Princess immediately perked up and grinned. He ordered some food to be brought up.
Once the food was delivered they both ate and talked about unimportant things. As soon as they were almost finished, Caro walked through the door. Both looked towards him. "Welcome back, Caro-san!" greeted the Princess happily.
Caro smiled warmly at her, "Arigato, Hime-sama." he replied.
She grinned in return, "We ordered some food for you!" she exclaimed as she pointed towards it.
"Ah, arigato!" he exclaimed and went and sat down on the bed near the small table. All three were eating when suddenly Caro spoke up, "Did you find them?" he asked.
The Prince made a throaty noise and then looked down, "No…we missed them some how…However, we will try again tomorrow, but we won't fail next time!" he exclaimed seriously.
Caro nodded to him and continued eating. After they finished eating Caro stood up, "You two should get some sleep. You must be tired. It has been a very long day for you." he said quietly.
They both nodded with hooded eyes. It had indeed been a long day. They both got into the same bed and lay down for sleep. Caro walked to the other bed turned out the lights and went to sleep.
About an hour passed and the Prince lay on his back staring at the ceiling. Even though he was exhausted, he couldn't seem to sleep. The Princess rolled over to her other side facing her brother.
She stared at him for awhile before finally speaking, "I can't sleep…" she whispered to him.
He turned his head to face her. "Me neither…" he whispered back. "Everything will be alright. We will succeed in our mission. Otou-san and Okaa-san are counting on us." he continued.
"I know…I'm just worried…" she whispered as tears formed in her eyes.
The Prince frowned, "It's going to be alright, Imouto…" he said soothingly.
The Princess smiled warmly at her brother, "You haven't called me that in a long time…" she said softly.
He smiled down at her, "Get some sleep, okay? We have a long day tomorrow." he whispered as he brushed her hair away from her face.
She kept her smile and nodded before closing her eyes. He stared at her for awhile and then frowned, 'We have to succeed, no matter what…' he thought to himself before turning back to the ceiling and finally closing his eyes for sleep.
----
The next morning they all got up and prepared for the day. As soon as they were outside, Caro spoke again, "You must complete your mission today. This is very important." he said to them.
"I know, Caro-san. We won't fail this time. I made a promise to my Otou-san." said the Prince.
"I won't fail either!" exclaimed the Princess and attempted a serious expression. The Prince looked at her and a sideways nervous smile formed on his lips. Caro smiled at them both and turned and disappeared into the crowd.
Brother and sister turned and began running back towards The Twin Maidens Hotel. At the nearest alley the prince ran into it and crouched. After about twenty minutes one of their targets emerged from the hotel and began running past them. The Prince watched with wide eyes as their target ran by. He turned around and continued watching him. He slowly removed the hood of his cloak as he watched the target. The Princess stayed where she was playing with her new doll.
"There you are! Come on we have to hurry!"
Suddenly, a hand grabbed the Prince's arm and began pulling him along. He made a throaty noise in surprise at suddenly being grabbed and pulled along. The Princess looked on with a shocked expression and sweat beading down her face. Her pupils had gone white with a black rim and her mouth was wide open.
The Prince looked up at the person who was dragging him and made another throaty response in surprise, "O…kaa…san…" he whispered as he stared at her back.
Nami turned toward him not really hearing him, "Huh?" she said and then gasped. She stopped walking and stared at the boy she had grabbed a hold of. She released his arm, "You're not…Luffy…" she whispered as she continued to stare at him.
Suddenly, Zoro and Sanji approached her, "Oi, Nami, you caught up to him, huh? I'm surprised. He seemed really excited about today…" said Zoro with a smirk.
"Aa…he ran off pretty fast. You need to wait for us, Luffy." said Sanji as they approached. Then they noticed Nami's shocked expression. "Oi, Nami-san, are you okay?" asked Sanji as they stopped next to her. They both turned towards Luffy and then back at Nami. "Nami-san?" called Sanji again.
"Who are you?" she whispered still staring at the boy.
"Oi, Nami, are you okay? It's Luffy…" said Zoro with a raised brow.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed Nami's shoulder, "Oi, Nami, I was waiting for you! Come on let's hurry! I want to get there as fast as possible!"
Zoro and Sanji quickly turned towards Luffy and they both made loud noises of shock as their eyes and tongue popped out of their head, "WHAT THE..?!?!" they yelled as they looked at Luffy. Then they turned to the other Luffy. Both were wearing straw hats and looked exactly like…well…like Luffy. Nami slowly turned towards Luffy eyes huge in shock and face completely devoid of color.
"Oi, Nami, what's wrong?" he said not taking his eyes off of her and completely ignoring Zoro and Sanji. He didn't even notice the other boy standing in front of Nami. He lifted his arm and put a hand to her forehead, "Oi, Nami, you okay? You're not sick again are you?" he asked with a lopsided frown and a raised brow.
Then suddenly there was another voice, "U…um…excuse me…"
Nami slowly turned to the voice, everyone else looked over quickly. There standing before them was a girl who looked and sounded exactly like Nami, only her hair was longer and a slightly darker shade, almost brown.
"What the hell are you doing?! Why didn't you stay where you were?!" yelled the Prince to his sister.
She quickly looked at him, "I'm sorry, Onii-chan!!" she said as she bowed to him. Sweat beaded down his face as he made a noise of disbelief at his sister's careless words. She had said…Onii-chan…The Prince slowly turned towards Nami…He knew her all to well.
"O…nii…chan…?" she asked slowly and quietly.
"Nami!! That girl looks just like you!!!" exclaimed Luffy.
"BAKA!!! Look at him!! He looks just like you!!!" yelled Zoro and Sanji simultaneously.
"Oh yeah..." replied Luffy quietly as if realizing this for the first time.
Suddenly, Nami's eyes rolled back and she began to fall towards the ground, Luffy caught her just before she hit the ground, "Oi, Nami!!" he screamed as he held her.
"AHH!! I killed our Okaa-chan!!" yelled the Princess in a panic.
"Will you shut up?!!...Ah! It's okay! Don't cry!" said the Prince in a panic trying to keep his sister quiet and calm her at the same time.
Luffy looked towards the Prince, face expressionless. The Prince looked over at him nervously. They stared at one another for awhile before Sanji spoke up. "W…we should get Nami-san inside and lay her down." he suggested nervously looking from one to the other.
"Aa." replied Luffy quietly as he lifted Nami up in his arms.
To Be Continued…
Translations and Explanations Corner:
1: Onii-chan is older brother (informal: "onii-chan", polite: "onii-san").
2: Hakubo means Aunt. I have the Princess say Hakubo-chan kinda like saying Auntie or something.
3: Ousama means King.
4: Otou means father. The Prince uses the san suffix out of respect. The Princess uses the chan suffix as if saying Daddy.
5: Okaa means mother. Same applies here the Prince uses san out of respect and the Princess uses chan as if saying Mommy.
6: Ouji means prince.
7: Hime means princess.
8: Sama is the highest-level honorific and is equivalent in some contexts to the speaker addressing someone as "Lord" or "Master". However, in other situations (such as an anime or manga set in modern-day Japan) it just indicates great respect. (You'd be surprised how many people don't know this…I realize it's an easy one and most people who watch anime do know…XP)
9: Shimata means "Oh no!" or "Oh crap!" (Or the other word I refuse to use because I don't curse…)
10: Itee means ouch or ow.
11: Matte means wait.
12: Meshi means food.
13: Azuki means red beans.
14: Ojou means girl or young lady. Adding san makes it Miss. It's more proper.
15: Obaa-san means grandmother.
16: Imouto means younger sister, or little sister.
Author's Note: Sorry for all the translations. It's mainly titles. I wanted to use the Japanese name titles instead of the English ones. I use some Japanese in my stories because, to me it sounds better and sometimes it describes what I mean to say a lot better. I'm so used to watching One Piece in Japanese that it's just easier and it sounds better. Also, I want to give the illusion that you ARE watching it in Japanese. They sound a hell of a lot better than they do in English…So all the sound affects they make or things they say, is the Japanese way. I hope you all don't mind and understand what I'm trying to say and do. This should be the only chapter with the most. I had a lot of titles in this chapter. I only had 5 non titles…XP I'm sure you know most of those, but I put them just in case. XD. wheathermangohanssj4, Raven the Ravenous and I all got together and decided to all write about the same thing, only our stories will all be different. I hope you all enjoyed my OC character Caro. All three decided on twins. We thought it made sense. Don't ask. XP wheathermangohanssj4 came up with the plot bunny. He asked if anyone else wanted to write it. However, Raven and I convinced him to try and write one with us! XD So credit goes to Gohan for this story idea! XD Hope you all enjoyed it! Also, sorry for the cliffhanger…Seemed like a good place to stop to me at the time...XP