((Blue's POV))
There we all were.... Zoro, Apache and I had entered through the door, while Luffy and Paulie came through the wall.
"Luffy!" I heard Robin's surprised cry. Good- she was still okay.
"Luffy?" Zoro exclaimed. I resisted the urge to laugh at his confusion. I wasn't really surprised at Luffy's appearance, or how he'd chosen to do it. I'd known Luffy too long now for anything he did to surprise me. Well, mostly.
"Paulie! Why didn't you run away?!"
I glanced down at Iceburg, another sensation of relief flooding through me. He was still alive too. Injured, but I could take care of that later. I waited to hear Paulie's answer, but all I heard from him was a stutter. "Wh-....What...?!" I was a bit confused as to why he seemed so stunned, and wanted to say something. But when my eyes landed on the group in the center of the room...I lost the ability to hear anything else except my own pounding heart beat.... for a moment I thought that I'd lost my ability to speak as well....
~Lu...~ "...Lu...cci....?!" I whispered, my voice threatening to break.
Paulie shared my surprise. "What the.... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" He yelled. I would've liked to know the answer to that too....
"Yare yare...." Lucci sighed as he turned, his jade eyes landing first on Paulie, then moving to me. My heart jumped when his eyes met mine- I'd hoped to see something... something in his eyes that would tell me 'This is a mistake' or something like that... But the man that I looked at now.... the man I looked at now seemed totally different from the one that I'd first met when we arrived in Water 7....
~
Our candle burns away, the ash is full of lies...
~
((Lucci's POV))
The door and wall behind us were broken in- through the door, Blue and two of the other Straw Hats. Through the wall, Straw Hat Luffy and Paulie. I was a bit surprised that they all had managed to make it to this room so quickly. Especially Straw Hat and Paulie, after what Kaku and I had done to them. But it didn't change anything. True, we didn't get the plans like we had originally thought we would, but now we knew where we could find them. It would only be a matter of time now.
Iceburg yelled at Paulie, and I could faintly hear Blue's soft voice whisper my name. I still didn't understand how I allowed our 'relationship' to get so far. But this was where it would end. It had to.
Paulie yelled something- I wasn't entirely listening really- and I sighed a bit. "Yare yare..." I glanced at him, but seemed to lose control of my wandering eyes and looked over at Blue. Her bright blue eyes were filled with confusion. I stared at her for a moment longer, then looked away. What was this feeling...?
Paulie yelled again, and I turned just as he ran at me, flinging his arms out and launching the ropes that had knives tied to them. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at his antics, and easily avoided his attack. The blonde was obviously surprised by this, and in a matter of seconds I had closed in on him. "Shigan..." I stabbed my index finger into his right shoulder, scraping against the collar bone. I left it there for a second or two, then pulled away letting him drop to the ground. He wasn't dead- yet anyway.
"PAULIE!!" I yelled as he fell to the ground. I had no idea Lucci had such power.... I never would have begun to suspect....
~But that was the point wasn't it....?~ My chest ached suddenly, and I brought my hand up, gripping the front of my shirt tightly in my fist.
Against my better judgment, I took out the Perfect ClimaTact and looked to Apache and Zoro. "It looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out of this one..." Apache and Zoro both nodded, shifting into fighting stances. I stared at them for a moment, then looked back at Lucci. At least they seemed they would be okay with the upcoming fight....
Lucci looked back at me, and I was sure that we were thinking the same thing.
Without a moments thought I ran at him, snapping my wrist so that the ClimaTact would extend to its full length. But I didn't activate its abilities. Not yet.
I struck at Lucci, telling myself that this had to be done.
~
I gave my soul to you, You cut me from behind...
~
I turned a bit, ignoring Blue when I heard her call out to Paulie.
"It looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out of this one..." I looked back at her, and the two of us locked eyes again. We stayed that way for a moment until she ran at me, the blue staff in her hand extending to what was probably its full size.
Hattori left my shoulder once more when I kicked my leg up, stopping her attack. It was weak- she obviously wasn't giving her all. I could get rid of her easily. So why wasn't I...?
~
Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. You're scared of the truth I'm tired of the lies
Cuz who I am, is where you want to be....
I glared a bit when he stopped my attack. Or rather, I forced a glare, staring at his face. Where had all the emotion that he had shown the night before gone...?
I could see his smile in my mind, and frowned. Tears formed in my eyes and cursed mentally, hating myself at that moment.
~
Don't act like an Angel, your fallen again...
You're no superhero, I found in the end...
~
I stared down at the girl before me. Something in my chest ached at the sight of the tears that threatened to burst from her.
What the hell was this..?! We hadn't spent that much time together... so what was this feeling that I still had for her....? I was becoming very frustrated. With both myself and with Blue.
I had to end this quickly. Pulling my leg away, I prepared to attack. "Rankyaku..."
"Rankyaku..."
My eyes widened a bit. What was he doing now?! I decided that questions were better saved for later and began to spin the ClimaTact in front of me, hoping that it would block most of whatever he was about to send at me....
He kicked his leg at me, and a blue... energy crescent!? My mind screamed for me to move, but my legs wouldn't respond. "Thunder Ball!!" I yelled, the first orb on the ClimaTact glowing bright yellow. Small bolts of electricity jumped from it, and the static formed a sort of barrier in front of me. But it wasn't enough to protect me from the force behind Lucci's attack. It hit the shield and knocked the ClimaTact back into my chest, sending me flying back into the near wall.
I coughed, beginning to pull myself out of the rubble.
~
So lie to me once again,
And tell me everything will be alright...
Lie to me once again,
And ask yourself before we say goodbye....
~
"Ne, Lucci..?"
"Hm..?" The larger man looked back at Blue, his towel hugging loosely onto his hips.
Blue sat on his bed, glancing out the near window. The thin white sheet lay over her lap, her hands neatly resting there. She stayed quiet for a moment, then shook her head. "Never mind...it's nothing..." She closed her eyes.
Lucci stared at her for a moment, then walked over and sat behind her on the bed. His left arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back to sit between his legs, her small back against his large chest. He pressed his lips against her shoulder, trailing small kisses to her neck.
Blue shivered a bit, relaxing against him. She turned her head towards his, placing a hand on his cheek lifting his head up a bit to kiss him on the lips.
~
You said you were there for me,
You wouldn't let me fall....
All the times I shared with you,
Were you even there at all....?
~
I watched her try to stand again. What was driving her so?
Whatever it was, it wouldn't be able to last against another attack like that. This time I would have to kill her.
I used Soru, quickly appearing before her just as she stood. I'd obviously frightened her, as she gasped sharply her blue eyes wide as she stared up at me. I mentally told myself to end it. I could do it quickly, and save her a great deal of pain.
What was stopping me...?
~
Why'd you have to up and run away
A million miles away
I wanna close my eyes and make believe
That I never found you...
~
Lucci allowed Blue to pull him into the kiss, a deep rumbling purr reverberated through his chest. Blue smiled a bit, then laid her head against his shoulder, her face buried in his neck. Lucci held her there, his head leaned against her's.
The two stayed that way for a few moments. Lucci opened his eyes a bit, staring out the window himself. What was he doing? In a few days time he would be gone, and he certainly couldn't bring her with him. He shouldn't have been allowing himself to be getting this close to her in the first place. He frowned a bit, beginning to release his hold on the girl.
Blue felt this, and lifted her head a bit to look at him. "Lucci...?" He looked back down at her, shaking his head a bit. "It's nothing..." He lightly kissed the top of her head, then slowly began to lie back onto the bed, pulling Blue down with him. "We should get some rest..."He whispered softly. Lucci could feel Blue smile a bit against his neck. "Mm.." She replied very softly, rolling over to lay with her chest on his, leaning up one last time to kiss him again.
"I love you, Lucci...." Blue whispered softly against his lips, her arms sliding under him as she hugged him.
Lucci couldn't keep a small smile from tugging at his lips, and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her closer. If any of the others knew about this.... He decided not to think about that. They had only spent a few hours together, but... Lucci had grown terribly fond of her. His chest rumbled with another purr as he kissed her back.
"I love you..."
~
Just when I put my guard away, it's the same old story...
You left me broken and betrayed, it's the same old story...
~
I stared up at Lucci. Standing was all that I could do. Hell, I almost couldn't even stand..... My chest hurt, my head hurt.... I was having trouble breathing correctly, and my left eye was loosing focus.
Would Lucci really kill me...?
He took a step closer, leaving very little space between us, and leaned over. His lips barely brushed against my ear and he whispered something to me. I closed my eyes, tears running down my face, and I dropped the ClimaTact.
I couldn't fight him...
~
Don't act like an angel, you're fallen again.
You're no superhero, I found in the end...
~
I could feel Blue shaking against me- whether it was out of fear or because she still fought back tears I wasn't sure. As long as I was leaning over to her I couldn't see her face.
That was probably a good thing...
I moved my head closer to whisper to her. "What do you want me to say..?" I knew she was wondering 'Why?'. Blue was the type of person who wanted to find an answer for most things- whether it was to make others feel better or her. Not that that was a bad thing.
I heard the loud clatter of her staff hitting the ground and frowned a bit. I had expected her to give up, though so it came as no surprise...
"Lie to me...."
"Lie to me...."
I kept my eyes closed, tears wetting my face. I was glad that I couldn't see him, but I was even gladder that he couldn't see me. Or my face. I was already weak enough.... I didn't want him thinking lesser of me....
His hand pressed gently against the back of my head, pulling me against his chest. I whimpered a bit, biting my lip to keep from crying anymore.
"Everything....will be alright...."
All the air in my lungs was forced out roughly when his fist collided with my diaphragm.
"Goodbye..."
I placed my hand on his arm, squeezing a bit. "L....Lu....cci...." That was all I could say before everything faded to black...
~
So lie to me once again and tell me everything will be alright...
Lie to me once again, and ask yourself before we say goodbye...
Well goodbye...
Was it worth it in the end....?
~
I held Blue up after she lost consciousness, her words still echoing in my mind.
I glanced down at her, but looked away soon after- I felt... ashamed? Why? I was doing my job. There was nothing for me to feel ashamed for....
Was there....?
Ridding myself of the thought, I laid Blue down on the ground and turned walking away from her. Her captain yelled at me, looking rather serious for a change. I didn't feel like dealing with him, but it didn't seem like I had a choice. I stared at him for a moment longer allowing him to continue to yell.
"Cat-Cat Fruit- Model: Leopard...."
~
So lie to me once again and tell me everything will be alright.
Lie to me once again and ask yourself before we say goodbye...
Well goodbye...
Was it worth it in the end....?
~