The lone figure was struggling through the snowstorm. He knew his ship should be around here somewhere, but he just couldn't find it in this sudden white blur.
The storm was indeed sudden, as Rob Lucci hadn't experienced one, ever since he came to this island about two years ago. After his defeat by Straw-hat back then, he had to keep a low profile. And after a few wanderings, he had found this island in the New World to be his perfect hideout.
It was exactly to his liking. It was dark and gloomy, just like him. It was uninhabited, so he wouldn't get disturbed. For years he had been forced into daily chitchat with Kaku and Blueno, but not anymore. They knew where to find him in case of real trouble.
And there was lots of game for him to kill and eat. Oh, how he enjoyed roaming the island in full leopard form as the island's top predator. And when he ran into a bear or boar too strong to take down that way, well, there was no shame in using a little haki or rokushiki.
But anyway, the storm was here now, and he had to deal with it.
Suddenly, he heard a female voice behind him, with a little sadism and fake love in it. "Fu fu fu, what have we here? I did not know this island had an inhabitant, and a sexy one at that."
"Who are you?" Lucci responded; "This is my island! Show yourself!"
A woman's face appeared before him. She had a pale skin, long, green hair, and a somewhat amused smile. But most importantly were her eyes. They were grey, rather than, and the grey seemed to seep into her orange irises and pupils. They were like little spears, penetrating deep into Lucci's hardened soul.
"I am Monet the harpy", she spoke, "and who are you?"
"Are you a logia, causing this storm?"
"Yes, do you want me to stop it?"
"Most certainly."
"I will, but only if you tell me your name, pretty boy. Fu fu fu."
"I am Rob Lucci of the CP9."
"Rob Lucci. Rob. Lucci…. The records say you were defeated by Straw-hat Luffy two years ago, and after that…"
Straw-hat Luffy. That name still made Lucci's blood boil in his veins. After a defeat at the hands of this rookie, he had been kicked out of his position as an assassin by the World Government, and lost his license to kill.
"Don't you dare say that punk's name!" he shouted.
"Fu fu fu, so he brings out some emotion? Interesting. He also brought me misfortune. I used to serve Joker, the greatest man in the New World. But now, thanks to him… I guess I'm nothing but a jobless, wandering pirate."
"It's still my duty to eliminate all pirates." Lucci amplified this statement with a haki-imbued shigan, aimed for the harpy's forehead.
Monet narrowly dodged it, and changed into her physical harpy form, ending the snowstorm.
"What was that for?!" She screamed, showing her first real emotion.
"You are a pirate, and pirates are to be eliminated", Lucci responded, shifting into half-leopard form, towering above Monet.
"Jeez, is this guy retarded? We're in the same mess, and he's still feeling the need to fight." Those and similar thoughts went through her mind as she flew up, away from the blood lusty zoan.
But there was one thing Monet hadn't counted on: as a true master of all rokushiki, Rob Lucci could also perform a geppou, or sky walk, and it wasn't long until he caught up to her. A series of aerial clashes between the two followed, in which the leopard man surprisingly took the lead, and Monet more than once had trouble avoiding serious hits.
"Shit, I need my skewers." Realizing that, Monet quickly dove towards the boat she'd reached the island on, followed by a rankyaku tori Lucci had sent after her.
And as soon as she landed, the wave of energy entered her back, cutting her open from the right shoulder to left buttock. Blood sprayed out of it, as she fell to the ground, coughing up some more.
The giant beast landed next to her, the boat shaking under his massive weight. He looked down on her, his eyes filled with an emotion he held for anger. And just to make sure this filthy pirate woman didn't survive, he clenched his left claw for a five-folded shigan.
But then, he felt a sudden pain in his feet, moving up rapidly through his feline legs. "You feel that, you asshole? That's the power of the Yuki Yuki no Mi. I'm turning you into a snowman!"
Monet's wings had turned into snow, and they were enveloping Lucci's body! The snow had already reached his waist, not long and his vital organs would freeze over! But before that happened, the leopard nails turned pitch black with haki, and five of them came down on each wing at once! She screamed, her wings turning back from their elemental form, dripping blood on the snowy deck, rendered useless by this monster!
As Lucci saw her screaming in the agonizing pain he had just put her trough, he felt a strange sensation in his throat and gut. Never mind, before he could examine it, he had a pirate to kill.
Monet rolled over, dodging another shigan, and quickly turned full logia. A new snowstorm surrounded the small boat, much heavier and ticker than before. Lucci tried walking out of it, but he bumped into a wall. As he further examined it, it felt strangely hollow, and when the storm fell, he noticed he was in a large white dome.
"Fu fu fu… how do you like it, leopard man? My ten-layer igloo!"
While Lucci tried to figure out where the voice could be coming from, Monet had positioned herself nicely on top of a nearby cliff to tend her wounds.
"Jeez, look what that idiot did. It'll take some time before I'll fly again… especially with my bandages still on that boat."
A load roar suddenly erupted from the vessel: "Rokushiki ougi: Roku-oh-gan!" followed by one side of the igloo crumbling down, and Lucci walking out through the rubble. His black coat had been torn apart, necktie and top hat being all the clothing that remained on his upper body.
In an instant he was behind Monet, and tried firing a rankyaku on her. But it was hesitant, and she easily dodged it.
"Had some time to cool down, agent Lucci? Fu fu fu."
Lucci tried some more attacks, each filled with more hesitation and fear than the last. Monet had no trouble avoiding them, and so she used her energy to try and start a little conversation.
"Shut up, bird woman. You're nothing but another criminal to be eliminated."
"You think rather one-sided. Ever considered having an adventure, just for the fun of it?"
"I get my joy from killing. I no longer have superiors telling me who or what to kill, so I have to decide on my own. And I've decided on you."
"So you didn't really care for your job as an assassin? Then why the rage towards Strawhat?"
Mont shouldn't have said that. Before she knew it, a single blackened finger entered the back of her skull. Her body sacked down, and fell of the cliff.
As Lucci looked over the cliff to see his kill, he felt that emotion again. The one he had felt on the boat. And now he could place it. It was one he hadn't felt in a long, long time: remorse for killing another human being…