After the meeting was finished, I followed Miss. All-Sunday to my assigned room. All of us, who were in the top thirteen, had rooms organized by our ranking. Therefore, Miss. All-Sunday and I were the ones closest to the boss.
"This one is yours." She said. I walked towards her and peeked inside from the doorway. A big, cushiony bed was placed on the far end of the room , embellished with red velvet and gold lacing. A canopy hung over the tops of it, giving it a fancy white sheen. I couldn't decide whether the net was for decoration or just to keep the bugs out at night. "Since you don't have anything with you, feel free to get comfortable any way you can." She turned to look at me with an expression I could not read. It was not angry, but not very welcoming either. "We all mostly just wait in our rooms until we get orders from Mr. 0." She seemed to be the only one who wasn't furious at me for having received such a high ranking so soon, perhaps because she herself was ranked even higher.
"No, I'm gonna go look around." I replied. It's not like I'd actually be staying there anyway. I pushed myself up from the doorway and began to make my way up the stairs to see what was making all the noise up above. She said nothing, but I could feel her eyes on me the entire time.
As I pushed past the last set of double doors, I was surprised to find myself in what seemed like a rather busy casino. Slot machines were everywhere and sitting in front of them were people hungry for wealth. Their eyes widened at the flipping images, and their arms pulled away at the lever almost systematically, each time full of hope they'd win it big. Little did they know what the machines were really doing to them. Off to the sides I saw roulette tables and groups of men clustered together, playing poker viciously. All of them, unsure of what the man beside them was going to do next. I quickly made my way to the front , pushing past herds of people in desperate attempts to reach the door. As soon as I stepped outside, I already began to feel my skin sizzling with heat.
Once I made it into the market, I stopped and turned around to make sure I hadn't been followed. The only people I saw behind me were merchants and citizens bustling about to buy and sell things. I was beginning to wear out a bit since my body wasn't quite yet used to the heat, so I escaped under the canopy of a nearby shop for some shade.
"Hello! May I help you?" The lady behind the counter asked me. As she smiled, I noticed many wrinkles forming around her eyes. Her personality seemed genuine, so I almost felt bad I couldn't buy anything.
"Just browsing," I smiled at her. She nodded understandingly and left to help out another girl who had just arrived.
"These fruits look so fresh," said the girl beside me, "I always love coming here into the market."
"What an honor it is to have the Princess herself, buy from my shop." The old lady cooed. My eyes suddenly lit up and I turned around. Her voice, it sounds so familiar. I feel like know it from somewhere. Long, electric blue hair fell down to her waist, and her cheeks were flushed from the heat. Somehow though, even in this scorching weather she managed to stay a pale pink color, while I, myself was already beginning to turn a nice shade of beige. She had an odd looking fruit in hand, and held it up to the woman.
"How much for a pound of these?" She asked.
"That'll be about 10 beri." The lady replied back.
"Great, I'll take a pound. Please, help me pick some out." The girl snatched a bag from the table and began picking out the fruits. She was grabbing what looked like much more than a pound, but the lady gladly helped her out anyway. I must be imagining things. I doubt I'd be able to forget someone like that. I shrugged and decided I'd best leave the shop. If I hung around for too long she might've thought I was going to buy something. "Is that-"
I was too far away to hear her finish her sentence. It most likely wasn't concerning me anyway, so I continued to walk on and find another area to camp out from the sun.
I soon came to a nice overhang in an alley, and slid my back down to meet the cool, brick wall. The walls casted a shady area, which was perfect for me to rest. The heat seemed to drain my energy more than anything.
After a quite a while, I realized that I had no idea where I was headed. Sure, I'd been able to escape that casino for a bit, but what exactly was I searching for? I really had nowhere to go, and nothing to do but wait and see whether my memories would return to me. A single drop of sweat rolled down the side of my cheek and I wiped it away using my dirty shirt sleeve. Suddenly remembering my powers, I moved my fingers around and managed to create a mini whirlwind within my hand. I held it up near my face and let out a sigh of relief as the wind blew the hair out of my face.
"It's not very smart of you to hang in areas like this," I heard a menacing voice growl.
"Did you really think you could hide from us?" Out from the shadows came Mr. 1 and the lady who had previously fought with me, Miss. Doublefinger. I quickly got up from my feet and took a few steps back.
"Hiding? The only thing I'm hiding from is this heat." I replied wittingly.
"Being cocky will only get you hurt," He growled back.
"Why are you here?" I questioned. The two of them began taking steps towards me.
"The boss sent us. It was stupid for you to think you wouldn't get caught." She walked over to me with those crazy swaying hips once again, and I tried my hardest to hold in a laugh at her strange ways.
"I already told Raven-hair that I was going for a stroll." I told them. "No need to get so-" Suddenly, the woman ran at me and attacked me using her arms, which had now been transformed into thorns. Her arms kept my shoulders down and her legs kept mines pinned tight to the ground. Though she was only stabbing through my clothes, I couldn't help but feel a little panicked. I managed to keep a straight face.
"Don't do anything stupid." Mr. 1 yelled. "The boss wants her back alive."
"Hmph" She pouted. "I'm just making sure she doesn't go anywhere."
"Well then this won't do any good," I said. A surprised expression came across her face right before I puffed up my cheeks and blew her right out of the alley way. Then, I made a mad dash towards the market and ran back towards the fruit shop. I didn't stop to turn around.
The faces of the people I ran by were nothing but blurs in my eyes. I was only able to make out the blue hair of the girl from before. She was still standing by the fruit shop with several bags in her hands. I slowed down my pace and went under the canopy of the store once again. After all, Mr. 1 knew better than to attack me in public.
"Hello again!" I waved to lady with a grin plastered on my face.
"Oh, you're the young lady from before. Please, help yourself." She greeted me. I nodded and grabbed a bag from the counter and began picking out random fruits. From the corner of my eye I could see him prowling up behind me. He wouldn't dare attack me in public… would he?
As I was glancing around the shop, I kept feeling the blue-haired girl's eyes on me. In fact, not once did she avert her attention.
"… Is that you?" I kept my head low. Is she talking to me? If not, I didn't want to look stupid. For a while I didn't respond to her and let my hair fall into my face. "I.. guess not..." She mumbled after a while. She grabbed her bags from the counter. "Thanks a lot!" She said, waving to the woman, who returned it with a smile. I could feel Mr.1 kept getting closer and closer until I was unable to see him from my peripheral vision anymore. The lady gave up on waiting for me and made her way to the other end of the counter to greet another family. I continued picking the fruits and didn't turn around.
"Come with me or the hand comes off." I heard a chilling voice whisper in my ear. I felt a sharp blade press against my wrist and I let go of the bag.
"Fine." I said, "Let's hurry then. Before she comes back." I didn't know if he knew I was talking about the merchant woman, but he seemed to agree and pushed me along anyway.
Upon reaching the casino, he took his arms off of mine and instead stayed close behind me and nudged me every once in a while for me to keep going.
We walked all the way down the stairs, past the long hallway, and into our assigned bedrooms. He walked me towards my room and pointed inside.
"Go. The boss is waiting." He grimaced at me one last time before leaving me by the door. Cautiously, I entered.
Inside, I saw Mr. 0 sitting in a chair across the room.
"Come inside, and shut the door." He said with that sinister grin still plastered across his face. I did as I was told and made my way towards him, but stopped half way. "Don't worry. You're not being punished." He reassured me, and chuckled to himself. I furrowed my brows and didn't move from my spot. Instead, I plopped myself right on the floor.
"Tell me who I am."
First of all,
Happy new years guys :D
I really should be out partying but nope
Instead, I'm at home writing fanfic.
Not that I'm complaining, B)
Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter.
Oooohlala, what's gonna happen next?
Maybe some
Crocodile X Mysterious girl time?
Maybe her past will be revealed?
Until next time, Enjoy!~
Reviews are really appreciated~