Natural Enemy 1-4B

The jungle path was cooler, all shadows and green noise from the trees above as it blocked the brunt of the sun from cooking you. Doesn’t do much for the humidity, though. Yeah, sweat was still a problem but considering he was on an island, he’d take a win where he could get it. Kai scratched at his nose as he kept walking, a thick piece of salt falling off as his hand came away from it. Above and around him, insects buzzed a constant drone, their noise a machine turned up to eleven as birds joined in with their squawking. 

The ground squelched under his sandaled feet, the wet leaves and mud almost enough to pull him under if he stayed still a bit too long.

Luckily, he was smart enough to keep moving, even if a bit lazily. Shoulders slumped, he was just a chubby kid walking through nature.

As slow as his steps were, though, his eyes scanned around him. Can’t be too careful. The jungle was still a jungle, no matter how much he’d gotten used to it over the last year. Call it paranoid or whatever but he was pretty sure the day he eased up too much would be the same day he fell into some quicksand.

He wasn’t sure he could stop it if he wanted to anyway; his eyes did what they did and they didn’t calm down easy. Not after years of sleeping in alleys with one eye open.

The village noise faded behind him as he kept moving, the sound of the festival still going strong like it would till way after the sun went down. You could be partying right now, Kai. He grit his teeth as he kept trudging forward, fists wrapped tight in a pair of black gloves he’d slipped on just outside Auntie’s house. You could be eating, but you’re too much of a sore los-

Kai’s body moved as he spotted green on green, the movement too smooth to be the sun or wind hitting a leaf. A sideways hop carried him a good two feet away, feet landing silently in the dirt before the hiss even hit the air. The snake’s fangs bit down on nothing instead of the ankle it aimed for, the head of the thing still a half-blur of motion as it landed in the dirt where his leg had just been.

A forked tongue flicked out and tasted empty air as the whip-thin viper coiled in confusion, hissing a frustration that sounded like a tiny stream.

He stared at the snake as the snake stared at him, blue eyes just blinking at slitted green. His heart wasn’t even racing, weird as that was; the sound just a heavy thud in his chest.

“Wrong target, little man.” The words slid out in a whisper as the confused snake slithered back and away into the undergrowth. Kai stood there for a second, fists slowly unclenching themselves with a creak of leather. Just a snake. 

No big deal, yeah?

Yeah. He rolled his shoulders and kept walking, pushing the feeling down. Yeah. 

– o – o – o – o – o – o – o –

It only took a bit longer before he got to it.

His spot.

His secret place.

Almost hidden by a wall of black volcanic rock you had to climb over to get to if you walked straight from the village, it was a deep cove full of calm water; deep enough that you could swim and dive if you wanted.

A whole year of messing around in the cove and thirteen felt a lot different than twelve, and not just his body. His powers, too.

Kai tossed his sandals off to the side, toes digging into the wet sand as he took a few steps further into the water. Eyes slammed shut as he took a breath and reached.

But not with his hands. Come here.

The water obeyed.

Slowly at first, but as sure as it always did, water surged up in front of him; not much taller than he was, but twice as thick as a telephone pole, it held strong.

“Water Fist.” Kai grit the word out, teeth tight up against each other.

The water morphed and bulged as he formed a fist with his own hand; knuckles formed, a thumb poking out as a giant watery hand stood as high as he did. The thing was bleeding water by the gallon, pouring free every second and splashing back into the cove, but just as much water was coming back into it as he kept his focus strong.

C’mon. Kai grunted, sweat already pouring down his forehead. Hard part over with. This was the hard part, shaping it together at least. Pushing the water up was easy; making it actually be something took brain.

Now, the easy part…

His fist swung out in a full-force overhand.

The giant water fist moved with him, slamming forward into the rock wall with a noise like a cannonshot. Kai barely blinked as spray exploded everywhere and back, soaking him all over as the rock groaned from the hit. “Sloppy…”

He clicked his tongue as he wiped down his face with his hands. Too much splash, too much waste.

At the very least, though, he knew it was stronger than it had ever been.

That he was stronger than he’d ever been.

And not just his water powers, too; back in Florida, he could lift up the front end of a car if he really put his back into it. Now?

Now, he really wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t exactly struggling anymore. 

Kai shook his head as he focused up again, eyes flicking over to a mango tree that hung not too far from the edge of the cove where he stood; maybe a good fifteen feet. 

Water gathered with a thought as he flicked his wrist again. Not a punch this time, but a snap.

“Water Whip!” A tendril of water lashed straight out from his hand — thin, tight and fast as a baseball pitch. It snaked through the air, and wrapped right around the stem of a ripe, red mango. Yoink!

He pulled his wrist back and the fruit popped free, the water tentacle tightening around it and flying back into his hand with the mango. Kai’s other hand came up and palmed it, the fresh fruit immediately finding its way into his mouth.

Sticky juice ran down his chin as the mango found itself chewed down to the pit in seconds, almost the whole thing gone as fast as he could finish it. “...nice.”

"The sea has blessed you."

Kai spun around, mango and all falling into the sand as his eyes went wide. Wha-

The village Elder was sitting on a rock maybe thirty feet away, just sitting there silent and stealthy like he’d grown from the stone. Skin like leather left out in the sun too long, the old man moved his gummy mouth silently as cloudy eyes blinked over at him, so white Kai wasn’t sure if the man could even see him at all. 

When? Kai’s hands came up. Where? Instinct was already making the water bubble around him, his heart picking up speed as he tried to catch his breath. How?

The Elder didn’t flinch, those cloudy eyes not even bothering to look back at the water. No, they stayed right on Kai; through him, even. “Relax, child of the sea.”

Not the DUP. Not the DUP. Not the DUP. Kai let out a long low breath, the surging water plopping its way back down with a splash. “How long you been there, ol… Elder?”

"Long enough to see Kanarowa playing with you." The Elder pointed a gnarled finger at the water, his voice dry as sand scraping over seashells. “You have eaten a fruit.”

"I..." Kai blinked as he wiped a bit of mango off his chin. "Yeah, some m-mango. Just now."

The Elder shook his head slow and creakily. "No. The Devil Fruit. The sea-curse."

Devil Fruit?

Kai blinked as his brain went back to something the villagers talked about way way back when he first landed, when he asked them about weird powers. Devil Fruits… Those were the things they talked about that gave you magic but made the ocean hate you. He had kinda thought it was just bedtime stories to scare kids or whatever.

"A... Devil Fruit.” Kai tasted the words again as he pushed a grin across his face, just enough to hide the awkwardness. The villagers already knew about his powers anyway. They just never bothered asking questions. Believe what they want to believe.

"Oh. That." Kai forced a chuckle to roll lazily out of his chest as one hand scratched at the back of his neck. "Yeah. Guess I got hungry. I'm like... Aqua Man or somethin', right?"

The elder just stared at him, his ancient face blank as the joke bounced off him like a pebble across the water. “You are blessed, and you are damned, boy.” That voice rasped out again, Kai blinking as he swallowed a mouthful of nothing. “Kanarowa’s blood burns in you but touch his skin… touch too long and draw too deep, and he’ll drag you down to join him.”

Kai’s laugh died in his throat as the air went cold. How did he…

“The sea does not forgive thievery, boy. You take his power... He takes your swim."

A chill rippled down his spine. I know that.

But how did he?

As much as Kai loved the surf, he knew not to go too deep and knew not to ever stay under too long. His body liked the water too much and whenever he stayed submerged, he got all heavy like the water was trying to take him into it and he could feel all that power, but couldn’t… 

He couldn’t do anything with it at all.

And the longer he stayed in the water, that was when things started to get weird. He takes your swim.

“Respect the Sea.” The Elder stood up with a groan of old bones, his headdress shuddering slightly. “And treasure His gift.” Without another word, the old man turned and shuffled back into the jungle, the leaves swallowing him up into the shadows like he was never there.

Kai let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, the water lapping at his feet suddenly feeling very very deep. “...Devil Fruit.”

His fists closed tight. “Yeah, I can work with that.”