Tashigi knew things like this could happen. Total disaster had been looming all along, in her life of sailing the Grand Line chasing pirates. Now it had finally met her, all the way in the New World. It seemed as though her whole life before becoming a marine had been people warning her about the dangers of the sea, and discouraging her from pursuing it. For a woman to join the military of the world government, during the great age of pirates... it was unthinkable!
Sure, there were strong, capable women in this world too, but so many of them were powerful devil fruit users, like Captain Hina, or natural masters of haki. Tashigi wasn't like them. She'd always done her best to be a brave marine, but a part of her had always been vulnerable and scared. Because beneath everything, she was a normal, human woman; and the world of pirates and marines, the endless struggle for power over this world, was a man's game.
More often than not, she felt in over her head trying to play in this game. Not only as a woman, but as that normal human with no special abilities or natural talents; she only had the art of swordsmanship, and a fleeting grasp of haki. And though Tashigi was an adept swordsman, even that had never come natural to her; she was a bit of a klutz and blind as a bat without her glasses. Not exactly good traits for an aspiring swordsman.
She had always tried to overcome her limitations by training harder than anyone else, but even then, men would always have an advantage over her in terms of natural physical strength. Being a woman in this world had always been her cross to bear; a longing, secret struggle she had always been fighting in her own heart. And so many people had discouraged her from becoming a marine as a woman, because things like this could happen. That's what they all said. It's dangerous on this sea in the great age of pirates. And now Tashigi had been kidnapped by a pirate.
The Grand Line was indeed a dangerous place. And the New World even more so. Tashigi and Vice-Admiral Smoker had just arrived to that notorious 2nd half of the Grand Line, pursuing the Straw Hat pirates into the New World, and already she had been beaten. She hadn't even lasted a day in the New World, and was now being held prisoner in a room at the top of a tall tower on Punk Hazard. And worse, it wasn't even a man who had beaten and captured her. It was a female pirate. She wasn't even strong enough to win against other women in the New World.
She had been defeated by a very tough opponent: a monstrous harpy woman named Monet... a terrifying creature, with terrifying powers, yes, but undoubtedly a woman, and a pirate. Monet was a logia devil fruit user with snow powers; the fight had been a chance for Tashigi to test her newly found haki abilities against a logia user, but she only came up short. Her sword-play and color of arms were no match for Monet's ripping fangs and sharp talons and icy magic powers.
Her whole arm had nearly been bitten off at the shoulder in the harpy's unrelenting jaws. She had screamed, dropped her sword, and fallen down in a pool of her own blood on the snow... and then blacked out and woke up hours later locked away somewhere. Utterly defeated. More than just physically painful, it was humiliating.
She almost wished she had been killed during the fight instead of being taken as a hostage. What she hated most was that Smoker would probably have to rescue her again. She just wanted to prove herself to him, as her superior officer, and earn his respect. To prove herself to all of them; anyone who said this sea was too dangerous for a woman like her.
To prove that she was a worthy and capable marine, a great swordsman, and not just that klutzy damsel in distress who needed to be protected and rescued all the time. But now it all seemed so futile.
The room in the tower where Tashigi was now being kept wasn't entirely awful, however, all things considered. Prison conditions could be much worse than this, Tashigi knew, for a pirate hostage or a pirate. This was no Impel Down. The place where she was being kept was Monet's personal roost; a room in the top of the highest tower over the factory buildings on Punk Hazard.
The outer edges of the room were surrounded with branches and large twigs, that jutted out of the walls and wrapped around the whole top of the tower like a giant bird's nest. But the rest of the room was mostly a normal bedroom; there was a large bed where Tashigi currently sat waiting, which had soft white blankets, and felt as though was entirely stuffed with feathers, from the mattress to the pillows. There was a desk at the other end of the room, covered in stacks of old newspapers, and some parchment and ink bottles, and a large, holstered quill pen that looked like it had been plucked right from Monet's own wing.
There was a bookshelf against one wall. Tashigi had been passing the time so far reading Monet's books, and there were actually some quite interesting ones that were perhaps unique to the New World; history books about Elbaf and Wano Country, even some science and technology books by Dr. Vegapunk that seemed to be very recent publications.
There was a normal bathroom and shower in a connecting room that she could use, too. She was free to walk around as much as she wanted, and wasn't even chained or handcuffed in anyway. The problem was there wasn't any sort of normal exit to the room at all, only a large window that Monet came in and out of, which Tashigi realized made sense for Monet since she could fly.
The window wasn't even locked either, but that didn't matter. She was at least a hundred feet in the air and was a normal human without powers or any way to get down on her own. She had tried, during her first few hours awake here, opening the window and calling for help as loud as she could, but to no avail. Up in the howling wind and whipping snow, she couldn't be heard or seen at all. It just made things all the more distressing for her.
How would anyone even find her here, then? Smoker could fly too with his ability, but was he even looking for her? Was he okay? Surely he hadn't been defeated too. And the Straw Hat pirates were here too... part of her secretly wished the Straw Hat pirates would rescue her instead of Smoker, so she wouldn't have to face the shame of being saved by her fellow marines. Maybe Roranoara Zoro... even that cook, Blackfoot Sanji had saved her before from Vergo.
Whatever was happening on this island, once again the Straw Hats, and Smoker and Tashigi, seemed to be pitted against the same enemy. It was that damned harpy, Monet. Tashigi longed to kill her now.
She thought about what she might be able to do against Monet in her current state. No sword, injured... Monet would tear her to shreds. Tashigi sighed, defeated, and stared out of the window at the falling snow. The wounds from where she had been bitten before on her shoulder and leg were still aching. It was almost dark outside now. She had been brought here the previous day, and now another entire day had almost passed with no sign of rescue.
Monet had explained that it would be beneficial to her and Cesar to keep Tashigi as a potential bargaining chip with the marines in case things went bad.
And she'd flown out of the window sometime yesterday and hadn't returned since. Maybe the fight was already over, Tashigi thought with some hope. Perhaps Monet and Vergo and Cesar had already been defeated. They were up against both Smoker and all of the Straw Hat pirates after all.
Surely it was only a matter of time. Tashigi nodded and tried to reassure herself of that. Yes, any moment now help would be coming and she would get out of this okay. But she waited, and waited, and waited... and nothing happened. Several more quiet hours passed, and eventually Tashigi dozed off...
She awoke to the sound of the window flying open and whistling, frigid wind coming through. Monet's frightening silhouette appeared from the darkness, gliding into the room with wisps of snow following her. Tashigi immediately sat up and felt for her glasses on the nightstand beside the bed. The monstrous harpy creature had returned, and was now standing near the window with her large wingspan spread, shaking snow from her feathers onto the floor. Tashigi felt the need to reach for her sword, to defend herself, but there was no sword at her side now.
"Did I wake you?" Monet asked casually. She turned to close the window behind her, and the cold sting of the wind evaporated from the room and it became quiet again. "You don't need to get up on my account. You can go back to sleep... it's quite late you know."
Tashigi stirred and adjusted her glasses. She was wide awake now and on guard. Though Monet was speaking so casually and seemingly being polite, there was such a sense of malice in her tone; a self-satisfied confidence, like she knew she had already won, and that Tashigi was no threat to her, and she was free to toy with her and talk down to her.
"Where is Vice-Admiral Smoker?" Tashigi demanded. "What are you planning to do with me?"
Monet didn't answer. She just gave a cocky smile and begin walking slowly toward the bed, her sharp talons clicking on the floor with every step. Tashigi lay half sitting up now, watching cautiously as the looming harpy made her way closer and closer to the bed. Monet was also carrying a small bag with her, Tashigi noticed, which she set down on the foot of the bed upon arriving there.
"What are you-" Tashigi began, but Monet cut her off.
"Relax. You're still a hostage for now, and you're going to be here a while it looks like." She began rifling around through the bag. "Those silly pirate boys are still fighting down there, and reinforcements will be coming from Dressrosa soon, so who knows what will happen."
She stopped going through the bag and looked up at Tashigi for a moment, whose face now looked quite worried. Monet gave another cocky smile.
"Doflamingo is coming himself to deal with Trafalgar Law and Straw Hat Luffy. Maybe your little marines too if they get in his way. I might be keeping you as my pet for a long time to come, so you should get used to it."
Tashigi's heart dropped. Doflamingo... the shichibukai? What exactly was going on here? And keeping me as her pet!? The situation now seemed more dire than Tashigi had anticipated. She gritted her teeth.
"Why don't you just kill me then?" Tashigi snapped. "Why are you keeping me like this?"
"My, my, come now, don't be so eager to die. You're weak, but you are a high ranking marine. You're quite a valuable hostage for us."
Tashigi frowned. Being called weak was like a punch to the stomach. Especially being said so matter-of-factly like Monet had, and not as some kind of attempt at an insult. If only she had her sword now... she would definitely try to fight again. But perhaps that would be of no use either. She winced and grasped her shoulder. It was hurting even more now than before she had gone to sleep. She doubted she could even swing a sword in her current condition.
"Does it hurt still?" Monet asked.
Tashigi didn't answer, just glared at Monet defiantly.
"Well I brought some medicine to treat your wounds." She began laying out the contents of the bag onto the bed: anti-septic spray, rolls of gauze and bandages, and various plant salves rolled up in a cloth strap.
"So you nearly bite my arm and leg off, and now you're going to treat me?" Tashigi said.
"That's right. You're no use to me injured or dead. I don't need you getting an infection somewhere down the line and losing a limb. That would just be more trouble for me, wouldn't it?"
Tashigi didn't respond. Monet smiled.
"Besides, you're the one who went swinging that sword at me," Monet went on. She put her wings on her hips and stared down at Tashigi like a teacher scolding a misbehaving student. "And using haki to cut me? Tsk, tsk. You know, it's been a long time since I've been injured in battle. I really am surprised someone so weak can use haki. I had to defend myself."
"You attacked me first!" Tashigi snapped. Weak, she said it again! She really hated this evil bird woman even more now.
Monet shrugged her wings. "I attacked you, you attacked me. You're a marine, I'm a pirate. Does it really matter anyway?"
Tashigi shook her head. "All's fair in war, I suppose, isn't it? To a pirate?" She was glaring at Monet now with all of her hatred, just wishing she could bestow the marine's justice.
"All's fair in love and war," Monet said with a smile. "Isn't that how the saying goes?"
Tashigi looked down and didn't answer. There was a tense silence where Monet just stared at Tashigi from the foot of the bed. Tashigi found herself unable to make eye-contact. She realized as brave as she was trying to be right now, this harpy pirate woman still totally scared her. Her swordsmanship had been no match for this woman. She remembered the razor sharp teeth tearing into her, the monstrous form Monet had taken on in battle, and the utter helplessness of being completely over-powered by a stronger opponent.
"Now take off your clothes," Monet suddenly said, breaking the silence. Tashigi looked up now, feeling her face immediately flush red and hot.
"W-what?" she stammered.
Monet let out a small laugh and pointed at Tashigi. "Damn, your face just turned completely red!" she covered her mouth with her other wing that wasn't pointing and laughed some more. "For a marine, you sure are girly."
"What exactly are you suggesting?" Tashigi demanded, her face still red and voice shaking now. Take off my clothes!? Is she going to...? This was exactly the sort of thing people said would happen to a female marine. But she didn't think a lady pirate would try to do something like that to her.
"Oh don't flatter yourself," Monet said, her wings on her hips and face scrunched in disgust now. "I just need to treat your wounds, remember? I'm not a man you know. I'm not going to rape you or anything." Then after some thought, she brought a wing up to her chin in a thoughtful way and added, mostly to herself, "I suppose I might kill you though. Hmm, is that worse?"
Tashigi breathed a sigh of, at least partial, relief. True, it was better if she was going to be kidnapped to be kidnapped by a female pirate.
"It's your leg and your shoulder right?" Monet said after some silence. "Where I bit you?" She sounded a bit more cordial now, Tashigi noticed. As though she really did want to help treat her and wasn't just making fun of her.
"Yes," Tashigi answered meekly.
"Take off your shirt and your pants." She sounded stern and serious now, and stood with her wings crossed over her chest in an authoritative manner.
This was all business to her now, Tashigi sensed. But she still couldn't bare to make eye-contact, or take off her clothes like she had been told. Tashigi was still a virgin at 23, and had never undressed in front of anyone. Not in an informal sense anyway. Only in front of navy doctors for her physicals. Even if this was purely medical too, it seemed so informal and too real.
"I promise I'm not going to look at your body or anything," Monet said, rolling her eyes. Tashigi was still blushing, and now fumbling with her hands in her lap, unable to look up. Monet pouted her lips in a frown and pointed toward Tashigi. "What a dumb marine girl. You really are immature and innocent aren't you? What was the navy thinking sending a soft little thing like you to the New World?"
"I... I chose to come," Tashigi answered, staring at her fumbling hands in her lap.
"That was a stupid decision!" Monet snapped. "Wanted to prove yourself as a woman, huh? Wanted to prove you could be just as good as the boys?"
Tashigi frowned and looked away.
"I'll bet your superiors treat you like a lady and call you something like little miss, don't they?"
Tashigi looked shocked and her eyes shot up to look at Monet. And her face was now even redder than before.
"No! Nobody calls me that!" she protested, but didn't sound convincing at all. Little miss! Was this bird woman psychic too, or was her nickname that obvious?
Monet covered her mouth and let out a small laugh. "I was spying on your ship as soon as you landed," she explained. "Us harpies have really good hearing you know. I heard your Vice-Admiral call you that, and saw you get all flustered."
Tashigi gritted her teeth. Damn her. She was back to making fun of her again. This was so humiliating, and this evil bird was enjoying every minute of it.
"You may have beaten me, and you may be right that I'm just a weak woman, but you're going pay for this eventually!" Tashigi snapped. "You won't get away with kidnapping and bullying a marine you know. You're going to face the true justice soon enough." Her voice was shaking, and she was still blushing, but she didn't care anymore. She couldn't wait to see this low-life pirate taken down, and really hoped Vice-Admiral Smoker would come soon.
Monet didn't look phased at all, however, only more amused. "Okay, little miss, calm down. I really shouldn't have teased you so much, huh? Didn't know you marines could be so sensitive."
Tashigi said nothing, just continued to stare defiantly at her captor. She was still scared but able to make eye contact now and at the very least stand up for herself again.
Monet walked around the side of the bed and came and stood at the side of the bed over Tashigi, looking down at her for a while. It made Tashigi feel quite nervous. What was she planning now? Is she going to punish me for yelling at her like that? Is she going to hurt me again? Instead, Monet sat down on the bed next to Tashigi.
"I know how you feel you know," she said with a much softer tone now. "Even though I'm a pirate, I'm a woman too, just like you."
Tashigi leaned away from her. Where was she going with this?
Monet continued, "This awful world we're in is the will of men, isn't it?"
Tashigi was taken aback. Was she being genuine now, or was this more teasing? Why was she sitting so close?
"Us girls who choose to fight have to do what we can, right?"
Tashigi looked surprised. "I... suppose so, yes," she answered cautiously, surprised by Monet's sudden warmth, still unsure what to make of this. Monet patted Tashigi on the shoulder with her wing.
"Love and war and all of that, right?"
"...Yeah..." Tashigi said slowly. She looked at Monet who was smiling at her. They stayed like that, looking at each other in a silence for a while.
Then, "Seriously though, undress and let me treat you now."
Monet gave Tashigi a pat on the head and then stood off the bed and went to her desk. Once there, she got her signature big swirly glasses from one of the drawers, put them on, and turned to walk toward Tashigi again. Those glasses really did look silly, but Tashigi didn't want to laugh at her or anything. She just thought, She wears glasses too... and touched her own frames.
"Okay," Monet said, standing over the medical supplies. "Let's get you patched up." She smiled. Tashigi felt her face turn red again.