She lightly traced the fading circular marks around her neck, self-conscious of the pitied glances she was receiving from her long time group of friends. She tried her best to remain calm, but the dampness and slight quiver of her hands gave away her nervousness. She gritted her teeth in an attempt to calm her nerves and avoided the gazes of her comrades.
"Let's – let's get you cleaned up," a cautious Nami offered. The orange-haired thief held out her hand for the dark-haired woman, picking up on the slight flinch the woman responded with. Nami hoped she didn't look as grim as she felt.
Tentatively, the slim woman took Nami's hand, her long sleeves moving upwards to show the purple and blue bruising on her arms. Her ears rung with the shocked intake of breath that came from the furry reindeer doctor of the crew and the crew's long nosed sharpshooter
The slim, dark haired woman who acted as the crew's archeologist moved to block her friend from view, sending an un-approving glance Usopp and Chopper's way. "I'll run you a nice hot bath while Nami finds you something more comfortable," Robin said softly. With direction from the two ladies, the dark haired woman was ushered from the deck to the crew's quarters below.
As soon as the three women were out of ear shot the remainder of the crew turned their questioning gazes on their captain whose gaze was shielded from them by his down-turned straw hat. They all had the same question dancing on the tips of their lips but the shaking form of their usually jolly captain told them that questions could wait until later.
"Let's get as far away from here as possible," the low growl of their dark haired captain had the six men scrambling to see the order followed lest they wanted to meet with Luffy's rage. As the crew rushed to set sail, the dark-eyed captain slipped away for some much need alone time.
The water stung merciless at her sore and bruised skin and it took the water very little time to turn dark brown from the days old dirt that was caked on her skin, and yet the woman paid little attention to the throbbing pain or the fact she was bathing in her own filth, her mind elsewhere.
"You were the last person I expected.
The loud, hateful jeering of the crowd rang torturously in her ears along with the sharp crack of a snapping rope and the patter of the rain slapping against the ground. Her dull gray eyes took in the large audience before her: the hate-filled gazes, the faces marred with contempt, and the malicious smiles; there was no doubt that they all wanted her dead.
"Filthy pirate!" a member of the crowd shouted. Calls of approval followed but were soon replaced by cruel-intended rocks. Many fell short of their target but the few that did hit their mark splashed purple, red, and blue welts across her skin.
The woman bit back the cries of pain scratching at the back of her throat, resigned to take the punishment in defiant silence. Her lack of reaction only fueled more people to throw various sized rocks at her poorly clothed body.
"ENOUGH!" a sharp cry rang out, instantly stopping the rain of rocks. The battered woman watched through hooded gaze as the Captain of the Marines in the area approached the stage.
The pompous man carried himself with a confident gait that set the woman's teeth on edge. He appeared to have dressed splendidly gaudy for the occasion, with each medal he ever received tacked to his lapel. An umbrella was gripped tightly in his grasp so as to protect his image from the harsh rain that was soaking not only the woman but the audience as well. The woman guessed it wasn't every day the captain got to take credit for a capture that another fellow pirate had secured. He stepped onto the platform and smiled cruelly down at the immobile pirate.
"You know you could save your own neck if you would just give up the location of the Straw Hat boy!" The woman stared dully into the captain's cruel blue eyes, refusing to answer. When he finally got the hint he frowned and grabbed her by the back of her head, forcing her face closer to his, she could feel his hot breath rolling off the side of her cheek as he growled lowly into her ear.
"It would be wise if you took the deal, girl! Your friends are not coming to help you, they are pirates, they don't have the compassion for that and even if they did," he gestured to the many marines situated around the plaza, "they wouldn't stand a chance against my armed men! Now be a smart girl and give up the Straw Hat's location!" the petite woman dropped her gaze from the captain's intense glare, resigned to her fate.
"It seems like this woman has chosen to die than rather than save her own life!" the captain addressed the crowd, "her foolish decisions will change nothing however, once we are through with her we will find the rest of her crew so they can meet the same fate!" A loud chorus of approval rang loudly in the air as the captain turned his attention to the executioner off stage. "Let's make this quick."
The rope was tightened a bit snug around her neck but the woman knew it was on purpose. Although it was hard to swallow, let alone breathe, the woman managed to hold her head high. She would die defiant in her last moments.
"Dupont, Rafu, better known to the world as the Silver-tongued Siren, you have been found guilty of acts of piracy and are sentenced to hang from these gallows until you are no longer breathing. Because I am a generous man, I will allow you a few last words; if you have any, speak them now." The woman bowed her head, resigning to her fate.
"If the pirate wench has nothing more to say then the time has come!" he signaled to executioner who grabbed the lever of the trapdoor, "may God have mercy on your soul!" With a loud creak the trapdoor flung open, sending Rafu plummeting. The snapping of the rope prevented her from crashing to the ground but if she thought she couldn't breathe a moment ago she really couldn't now.
And it was as the last of her oxygen was forced from her still body and the rope hugged her neck in a death grip that she heard her salvation. And it was as the darkness claimed her sight that she saw the familiar straw hat of her dear captain flying towards her.
You reached me when no else could.
She didn't know how or when it had happened but Rafu found herself staring into a bowl of soup. She didn't doubt that the soup was delicious but seeing the brown broth turned her stomach. Still, in order to appease the blonde haired cook, she forced herself to swallow two spoonfuls of soup before pushing the bowel away.
"Is the soup not to your liking Do you want something else instead?" Sanji was hovering over her like a worried mother and as much as she appreciated his concern, his close proximity set her on edge. The sudden tension in the woman's body did not go unnoticed by the cook and although it pained him to see her subconscious mistrust he put some distance between them.
"It's delicious Sanji," Rafu mumbled, avoiding his gaze, "I'm just not very hungry at the moment." She excused herself from the table and headed out to the deck, ignoring the loud growl of her empty stomach.
The cold night's air bit at her exposed face, a welcomed change from the harsh rain earlier in the night, but she thought little of the elements as she wandered the large expanse of the ship. To be freely walking the deck once more, to have a breath of fresh air instead of air mixed with sweat and fear, to not be weighed down by chains were sensations Rafu never thought she'd experience again. She allowed her feet to carry her to whatever destination they pleased and was not surprised to see they had brought her to the mast of the ship, which was currently occupied by her straw-hat-wearing captain. She felt her lips tug upwards in a small smile as she stared at the back of his red vest.
You forced me to smile when I thought I had forgotten how to.
The rain was relentless, soaking not only her but her determined captain who was currently carrying her. Along with the thundering rain, the howling wind chilled her to the bone, despite her captain's attempt to keep her warm by pressing her close to his chest.
It was hard for her to keep her focus from swimming but she was determined to stay awake for Luffy's sake.
"Lu-Luffy," she rasped through blue lips, "Luffy, go on without me, I'm only slowing you down." She bit back a cry of pain as her determined captain pressed her closer to his chest, rubbing her sore bruises against his ice cold chest.
"D-don't talk like that!" Luffy growled. He kept his narrowed gaze trained in front of him as he pushed on. "I never leave one of my own behind! I made you and the others a promise a long time ago that I would never leave any of you behind and I keep my promises! You are too important to me to be left behind!" Rafu stared at her captain's determined face, touched by his words and actions. With as much strength as she could muster, Rafu untied her scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around her captain's. She offered him a small smile when he looked down at her in surprise.
"You need some kind of warmth too," Rafu said simply. Luffy opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by Franky and Brook's loud calls.
With renewed energy, Luffy scrambled for the large shipped docked in the distance.
So do I hate you?
It was all his fault. If he had been sooner, if he had never left her to look after the ship while the rest of the crew went exploring, if they had just searched harder than maybe he could have been there to shield her, to protect her.
Each bruise she had endured should have been on his skin instead, every cut that had shed her blood should have been his to endure, and the rope imprint branded on her neck…..He slammed his fist against the mast and gritted his teeth against the dull throb. He jumped in surprise when Rafu's voice cut through the night air.
"Chopper is running low on bandages; I don't think he'd like it too much if you broke your hand."
She stood before him in clothing that covered all of the damage done to her but Luffy had already memorized the wounds that would scar him forever. He watched as she self-consciously rubbed her left arm, a nervous gesture he had picked up on during the past few months. He turned his gaze way from the woman before him and returned it to the waters stretching out before him. He forced himself to concentrate on the sight ahead of him and not on the female pirate who settled herself beside him on the mast.
"Luffy, it wasn't your fault," her soft voice said. "If it hadn't been for you I would be –"
"If it hadn't been for me you wouldn't have gotten hurt! I am the captain! I am supposed to be able to protect you but instead….I understand if you hate me." The dark-haired male lowered his head in shame. He was more than a little shocked to hear her soft laughter. He turned his questioning gaze upon her smiling face.
"You are funny, Luffy." She grabbed his hand that was closest to her and squeezed it encouragingly. "I could never hate you; thank you for coming back for me."
The lanky male felt the slight upturn of his lips as he stared at her. He squeezed the tiny hand encased in his and turned back to look out over the black waters. "I made a promise, didn't I?"
No. I love you because you saved me when no else could.