A/N: Oh man am I enjoying this story! The plot just keeps getting better and better it's so fun to write! I am getting myself a laptop tomorrow, so I'll be able to write even more stories without clogging my mother's computer Also I have had some brilliant ideas for my next few fics just from writing this one so that when this is finished I'll be able to post them Yay! Anyway that's enough chitter chatter from me I hope you enjoy the next chapter and please review at the end!!!!
Amista stared around her, there had to be at least a hundred men and women, all of them with weapons pointed in her direction. Well this was just dandy, she might be able to take on a couple of people at once, but not one hundred of them. She really wished she had requested backup, or better yet dragged Mihawk along to help her.
"Let's have some fun with 'er tonight boss!" One of the men in the crowd stepped forward examining her much as if she was a fine horse for sale. "We haven't 'ad a blonde come to this neck of the woods in so long!"
"Baka!" The man that was holding Amista's wrist battered the other man away. "She's a Marine, we could get a mighty fine ransom for her."
Amista groaned inwardly, could this day get any worse? The man who was holding her grinned a wicked and self satisfied smirk. Amista winced, he really was in bad condition. He was so skinny that his bones stuck out of his greyish skin, making him look as though he was a skeleton. Amista felt chills work their way up and down her spine.
"You won't get much of a ransom, but you will be thrown in jail!" Amista growled as her head was ripped up by the man she quickly discovered was boss. "Let me go scum bag!"
"Oh no the poor little girl is going to cry!" The man cackled as Amista struggled against him. "You know what boys? I've changed my mind, do with her what you want."
Amista cursed her big mouth as she was thrown into the centre of a circle of men, all learing and grinning at her. There was no way she was going down without a fight. She pulled her gun from its position under her shirt and shot the closest man through the leg. She would only kill if she had to.
"Stay back or you will die." Amista tried to hide her fear by making her voice sound confident and menacing. "Don't you dare underestimate me!"
No matter how intimidating Amista made her voice, the men came towards her forcing her to walk slowly backwards. God be damned if she was going to give up! She would fight until the very end, she would not sit down and cry while they had their way with her.
Taking a steadying breath she cocked her gun and held her stance. As a big man lunged forward towards her, she fired targeting him in the chest. She felt her stomach rebel as he dropped to the ground dead. She had not meant to kill anyone but she couldn't stop to dwell on the incident as more of them just kept coming.
She felt her arms grabbed from the back and she was pulled roughly against a wall. Her gun slipped from her hand and she felt dismay curl in the pit of her stomach. Efficiently she kicked a blonde man in the groin area and struggled from her captors grip.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and every sound seemed to blast through her ears. She fervently wished that she was not alone in this mess and she could not help but curse Nye for not sending her backup. Even though it was not fair for her to blame him.
Since she had lost her gun, she did everything she could to stay alive and unharmed. That meant she even resorted to digging her nails into the eyes of her aggressors, making them scream in anguish.
Now the women started to fight as well, doubling the opponents that Amista was up against. She was no longer a target for the men's pervese delusions. Now she was a threat and must be detonated as soon as was possible. Amista didn't care, the only thing that really mattered anymore, was the need to survive. She had to get out of this mess.
Roughly she fell to the ground, scrapping her side on the hard and unforgiving concrete. As she staggered back to her feet, Amista found her gun. She didn't think there could be a more welcomed object in her life at that moment. That was until she tried to shoot and found that she was out of ammo.
Amista cursed bitterly and kicked brutally forward. She missed and felt a dagger slice through her right hip making her fall to her knees once more whilst crying out in pain. Amista felt a dead weight drop from her shoulders as she accepted her fate and awaited the kiss of the Grim reaper. She had sworn she would not go down without a fight and she had held her ground for quite sometime. However there was simply to many of them and she was too tired to fight any longer.
Amista watched as the blade of and axe came swinging towards her neck. Quickly squeezing her eyes closed she anticipated the fatal blow. It never came. Instead she heard terrified screams and horrible tearing sounds. Then there was silence.
Slowly Amista opened her eyes and stared around her at the carnage. There was blood absolutely everywhere, bodies lay all over the place clean cuts splitting them straight through the center. Her eyes travelled further down the alley and there he stood, proud as a stallion.
His eyes blazed in victory as he replaced his large black sword onto his back and walked towards her. Amista had to push away the need to run into his arms and beg him to keep her safe for all of eternity. That would cause problems, the two of them were too different. They were opposites, so she would have to stop harbouring feelings for this pirate. It wasn't love; that she was sure of. It was lust, she craved his all manly body solely because he was dangerous. There was nothing more to it.
"If you keep staring at me that way, people may think you're in love with me." Mihawk grinned watching Amista closely. "We wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea about your lust for me, now would we?"
"What!?" Amista's eyes widened in shock and she worried for a minute that maybe he had a devil fruit that allowed him to read minds. She felt herself go cold at the thought that he could have heard her train of thought. "Why would they think that I'm lusting over you in the first place!?"
"You know that it's true." Mihawk felt a surge of amusement run through his veins. It was very easy for him to bait her and he enjoyed doing it. "Your eyes grow round with need every time I'm here."
"Yeah right! Could your head grow any larger?!" Amista snorted finally catching on to his little game. The fight with so many people must have made her rather dense. "Let's get out of this place. It's creepy."
"Not even a thank you for your hero?" Mihawk raised a brow in amusement. "I may have to just keep you here until I get one."
"Over my dead body!" Amista snorted. She had not known Mihawk in this light before, usually he was cold and unforgiving. It was strange, though very attractive to talk to him when he was in a playful mood. "You'll never catch me alive!"
Giggling Amista ran towards the exit of the alley way, only to be lifted up against a tight torso. Mihawk grinned and threw her over his shoulder, retreating further into the darkness. Amista squealed in mock fear, biting him gently on the ear.
"Admit it! I saved you." Mihawk's features were invisible in the darkness, though his voice sounded low and husky and it gave Amista the shivers. "I am the reason you're still alive."
"Oh my hero!" Amista pretended to faint against his chest as she held her hand to her forehead. "What would I have ever done without you! My life was miserable before you came!"
"But of course!" Mihawk stared into Amista's eyes and suddenly everything went quiet. Amista felt herself go still and watched as Mihawk's head lowered slightly. He was going to kiss her she realised. Want and fear shot through her. She could not go around kissing pirates! She worked for the Marines. Kisses weren't that special anyway; they didn't mean anything.
Quickly Amista pulled back and out of Mihawk's embrace. She expected him to throw angry words at her and be furious. Instead he didn't say anything and accepted her decision. Tension hung in the air making it hard for Amista to breath, it was such an awkward situation.
"We should probably get back into town." Amista whispered holding her right hip, suddenly aware of the burning pain located there. "I need to report this."
"You need to see a doctor." It was a demand not a statement Amista realised as she looked at Mihawk. "I should not have played around while you had such an injury."
"Mihawk. It wasn't your fault; I played back." Amista smiled at him, feeling more at ease. "And you did save me."
"Let's get back before you start relying on me." Mihawk smirked and then walked with her out of the gloomy alleyway. "First off you will see a doctor."
"Yeah alright. I can contact headquarters from there anyway." Amista didn't know why she was letting the pirate beside her take over. Usually she took care of herself and accepted personal help from no one. Though it was oddly calming to have someone else think for her. "Lead the way."
"I was going to of course. Even if you had refused." Mihawk strode arrogantly towards a out of the way building. It was colored bright yellow and had a happy feeling to it. When Amista followed Mihawk through the doors she felt safe. "Eva!"
Amista jumped at Mihawk's call. Did he know this woman? Were they friends, or maybe even lovers? Amista stared at Mihawk's back, he certainly shouldn't have any trouble picking up women. Pirate or not; he was hot!
"Mihawk?!" A woman with bright pink hair and blue eyes sashayed out of a small room. She smiled a perfectly white smile and her eyes lit up seemingly eating the sight of Mihawk. "What can I do you for?"
"Amista got hurt during a fight, she needs to be healed." Amista's heart fluttered at Mihawk's use of her name. "She's a Marine."
"A Marine huh?" Eva's nose crinkled in dislike and Amista suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Tell me Mihawk, how did you earn the valuable friendship of a Marine?"
"She's the lookout for the Shichibukai and Four emperors." Mihawk shrugged and placed his hand on the small of Amista's back. "I'm going out, I have things to do. I believe you will treat her well."
"Of course." Eva bowed giving in to Mihawk. She knew that tone of voice and it was deadly to fight against. What Mihawk wanted, Mihawk received. "Right this way."
Amista followed Eva up the hall, turning back to watch Mihawk who grinned at her insecurity. She wondered why Eva had such a grudge against the Marines and when she spoke this question aloud she was quite shocked.
"Because you little wench! They take everything without asking!" Tears sprang into Eva's eyes as she turned away. "Though I don't envy your position. You have to work with that dog Nye."
"Nye." Amista bit her lip. "He's not a very good person."
Eva's head snapped around in Amista's direction and her eyes widened in understanding at the look on Amista's face. Quickly she walked over grabbing the younger girl's hand. "What did he do to you?!"
"Nothing. It was only a kiss." Amista whispered. It felt good to finally be talking about it. "Oh it was horrible, not the way I wanted my first kiss to be."
"No wonder Mihawk is keeping a close eye on you." Eva looked Amista up and down. "You're not his usual type you know. So I wondered why you were with him. But it's because you are vulnerable."
"That doesn't make any difference, he would be older than me and it wouldn't be proper." Amista said trying to divert the conversation.
"He's only 19, you know." Eva smiled in amusement. "He has achieved a lot for his age. Especially defeating the world's greatest swordsman. He's very talented and special."
"Yeah." Amista sighed and stared at her feet. "But why would he care about me?"
"He gets protective and his last girlfriend hurt him badly." Eva sighed as she lead Amista into a small room with a bed. "I don't think he'll be the same again. He became so cold, not that he wasn't cold before."
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." Amista muttered trying to piece together Eva's words. "What has all this got to do with me?"
"Well it has nothing to do with you really." Eva admitted thoughtfully. "And what I meant is that before he treated women with respect. Now he just sees them as something to relieve his pent up frustrations. Basically a tool for sex."
After that Amista decided to keep quite and stop asking questions. Eva was talking in circles and riddles and Amista was unsure how to decipher them. She believed that everything would turn out for the best in the end. The world had a funny way of fixing itself up.
"Would you mind if I quickly called headquarters to tell them mission accomplished?" Amista asked quietly taking out the mini den den mushi her sister gave her. "I will not be long."
"Certainly." Eva walked out of the room silently, letting Amista call her sister in private.
"Hello?" Coral's voice rang over the Den Den Mushi and Amista felt tears spring to her eyes. She had not realised the emotional trauma she had endured.
"Coral? I don't have long to talk but could you pass on a message?" Amista was proud of the way her voice stayed steady, she didn't want to alarm her sister in any way. "Tell Nye that I have completed my mission and should be back in two days."
Amista hung up the Den Den mushi feeling light headed and dizzy. She had probably spent too much time talking to her sister. With a sigh she eased herself onto the bed in the room and closed her aching eyes. She knew that Eva would be back soon, but she was too tired to even wait.
"Amista?" Mihawk's voice crooned. "It's time to wake up. You have slept for too long."
Slowly Amista became aware of a warmness surrounding her. Carefully she opened her eyes to find she was still in the small doctors clinic. Only now she had warm fluffy blankets tucked around her form binding her to the bed.
"How long have I been out?" Amista asked groggily coming to a sitting position. "Ah. I'm hungry."
"You've been sleeping like a log for quite a while. Eva walked in yesterday to find you dead to the world." Mihawk grinned. "Let me take you to lunch. When are you due back to Headquarters?"
"Not until tomorrow." Amista yawned climbing out of her bed. It was then she found that her legs were not going to cooperate. Her knees buckled and she suddenly found herself wrapped in Mihawk's arms.
"We should probably wait until you can actually walk." Mihawk said lifting Amista back onto the bed. "You are still slightly pale. You lost a lot of blood yesterday."
"I promise I'm alright now Mihawk!" Amista got back off the bed afraid to be too close to Mihawk for too long. She didn't want to take the risk that maybe she would regret what she did next. She seemed to loose all control around him. "Now I really am very hungry!"
With that said Amista marched out of the clinic, leaving a wad of cash on the front desk for Eva. It was more than enough to pay for her treatment, but Eva had been nice to her. She deserved the extra money.
The warm breeze ruffled her golden hair as Amista stepped into the sunlight. She was free from her work for another day. Today was her time to herself. She felt the excitement bubble in her veins.
"So where would you like to eat?" Mihawk asked making her jump. She had not noticed him walking up beside her. "I will pay of course."
"I can pay for my own food! I'm not poor you know!" Amista retorted. "There's only two restaurants in Rodina and one's seafood. I'm allergic to sea food."
"Well then Princess, lead the way." Mihawk said, humour glinting in his eyes.
The food at the resturant was wonderful and filled Amista's belly, making her feel warm and contented. She looked over the at the Ocean. The resturant had a beautiful view of the sea and Amista couldn't help but wonder if that was the influence of the Marines. They did after all have their own private dock.
"What do you plan on doing now?" Mihawk asked Amista curiosly. "You have the rest of the day to do whatever you like."
"I dunno. Maybe I should take a look at the warehouse in the back alley." Amista replied lazily not noticing the angry spark that had just ignited in Mihawk's eyes. "You know check to see if we got them all."
"What, so that you can get yourself killed?" Mihawk sneered grabbing her wrist. "The only reason you got out alive last time was because I was there! I won't be there again!"
"I didn't ask you to join me did I?" Amista growled standing up. "I don't need your help! I can do it on my own!"
"You're not as strong as you seem to think you are!" Mihawk was now towering over Amista. She jutted her chin forward in defiance. "You're just a woman! What harm could you possibly do to a fully grown man?"
"You're just angry because I'm not doing what you want me to do." Amista spat. His words had hit her hard and they had hurt. Now she wanted to hurt him back, to make him feel the way she did. "You're a nice person when everything is going the way you want it to! But as soon as something doesn't do what you want it to, you go on the defensive and you true colours come out!"
"And what exactly are my true colours?" Mihawk asked, his voice dangerously low. It sent chills throughout Amista's body which made her seethe with anger at the effect he had on her.
"You're a chauvinistic and arrogant prick, who thinks he can have anything he wants whenever he wants!" Amista turned to walk away only to have Mihawk grab her wrist in a tight hold. "Let go of me!"
"No Amista! I'm sick and tired of your sweet and innocent act. You're just like Rebecca!" Mihawk stared into Amista's blue eyes. "On the outside you seem innocent. On the inside you're a bitch that likes men to chase after you!"
"Well I'm sorry that you feel that way Mihawk!" Amista said lowly looking him straight in the eye. "If you don't like women like me, why don't you look at the way you treat women, and treat them with a bit of respect and not as machines."
"What exactly would you be implying?" Mihawk's grip tightened on Amista's wrist.
"You only interact with the female species for sex Mihawk!" Amista threw the accusation at him with a heavy heart. What she was saying was unfair, she knew. But still she continued. "You see us as machines to give you what you desire."
"If that's really how you want me to be, I can be." The air around Mihawk suddenly became dangerous as he moved in closer. "Because Lassie I know you won't resist me."
"Don't come any closer!" Amista squeaked pushing on his chest. He was telling the truth she would not be able to resist him. And that was the most terrifying thing about the man in front of her. "Let me go!"
Mihawk smirked and let her wrist fall free from his vice like grip. Without waiting another moment Amista turned and fled as fast as she could. She never wanted to remember that conversation or the look on Mihawk's face ever again.