Ugh I've tried downloading this for a long time, but something is wrong with the doc manager! Grrrr :( well if you're reading this now obviously it's fixed lol anywho…
I relocated myself to an area without service, so in my internet-less traumatized stupor I was able to finish this chapter O.o
We're going back to Robin briefly. Sorry for the lack of action, but I'm trying to lay out all the important info you need to know, otherwise the action would just be pointless. But don't worry! It'll get more intense near the end when it all comes together :)
Sanji: Namiiii-swaaaannn~ here is another chapter for your delight!
Nami: Thank you Sanji-kun. *thud* Oops… Chopper! We need another blood transfusion…
'Found it!' I silently celebrated my discovery as I held the book open to a certain page. On the right side was a picture of the wanted poster of the very man that had snatched our precious navigator-san away. Motion frozen in time, his hair stood unmoving around his face, seemingly whipped into a frenzy by an angry wind. He was looking over his shoulder at me, a maniacal smile gracing his otherwise handsome visage. I looked to the left side and began to read the small passage:
'Captain C.J. Cezar (shown right). A well-known pirate originating from West Blue, he earned a bounty of 200 million beli after destroying an entire village by the name of Daidaiiro. His crew is known as the "High Tide" pirates due to their captain's fearsome devil fruit ability to manipulate the ocean. Current whereabouts: Unknown.'
"Well that certainly is obscure. There's not much at all about his past besides this." I mused out loud. "But I guess this is better than nothing. Information about the enemy is always vital." I closed the book and made my way out from the dusty bookshelves at the rear of the library, heading towards the front counter. After convincing the elderly librarian to let me purchase the book I went outside, squinting slightly at the sudden brightness. People jostled along the busy street, ignoring the calls of street vendors and hurrying to unknown destinations. I sidestepped as a cart filled to the brim with melons almost plowed me over.
We had landed in Abanon early that morning. After a quick meeting on the deck of Sunny everyone had quickly branched off to accomplish their respective tasks. Sanji, Chopper, and Franky were to pick up provisions, Luffy and Zoro were standing guard on the ship, and Brook and Usopp were in charge of finding and purchasing a set log pose to Breech. As for me, I had made it my mission to find out more about the mysterious Captain, hoping to gain the upper-hand if it came down to a fight (which I hoped it wouldn't). 'It never hurts to be prepared,' I thought.
I continued on down the street, searching. 'There has to be a bar around here somewhere…' I mused to myself. Locals, low-life's, travelers, thieves, bounty hunters, and pirates frequented bars, making them a treasure trove of information for those clever enough to inquire. By asking the right people you could find out the location of just about anyone on the island, events, upcoming weather, and recent pirate activity. The last one was what I was going to investigate. I smiled upon seeing a rusty sign with a mug of ale and the faded words Fred's printed on it. Pushing the small swinging doors aside, I walked inside.
It was difficult to see at first, my eyes not having had time to adjust to its dim and dusty interior. The sound of many men loudly and obnoxiously conversing pounded my ears. It seemed business was anything but slow today. Although I could handle myself in just about any situation, I was starting to yearn for the quiet solitude of the library again. After a few more seconds I could make out the people creating the noise. Every table was packed, and the bar was filled except for one lone stool in the corner. How fortunate. This is where I took my seat.
Several men glanced in my direction as I sat down, some looking curious and others simply trying to look up my dress. I crossed my legs and five of them sadly turned away.
"What can I get'chya?" asked the bar keep, sweating profusely from trying to satisfy the demands of the thirsty hoard.
"Rum, on the rocks if you will." I replied, putting my head in my hand. "And when you could spare the time, perhaps a little information." I slid 10,000 beli onto the counter before me. His eyes widened considerably at this. He turned abruptly and shouted behind me,
"Arianna! Come 'ere!" At the summons a busty bar maid pushed herself free from the throng, holding a tray of empty glasses expertly above her head. Setting them down upon the counter, she made her way over to us.
"What's it now Frederic?" she asked, sounding a little annoyed.
"We 'ave a very special customer right 'ere." He replied with a toothy grin, holding up the money for her to see. She glanced at me quickly and then looked back to him. "Would you be s'kind as to show 'er to the room in the back? So's to 'ave a little privacy. And give 'er a rum with ice while she waits."
"Certainly," she replied. "Come right this way, madam."
I smiled and walked through the section of counter that she had lifted to permit me entrance. I followed her behind the counter, ignoring the impatient customer's shouts and the empty mugs that were thrust towards us.
"Just ye wait for Frederic! He'll be with ya in a jiffy!" shouted Arianna, finally opening a door and ushering me through. Closing the door she hit the lights, and I observed a medium sized room with two fluffy looking couches facing each other. A smaller version of the bar outside lined the entire left wall. It was slightly cleaner than the one outside, so I presumed this was what they considered to be the "V.I.P" room. Strolling towards a couch I sat down, pretending to admire it. Making her way behind the counter, Arianna began to fix my drink.
"So I can see that ye are familiar with these sorts of "business transactions", so I won't beat around the bush. What kinda information are ye lookin' for?" She asked, returning from behind the bar and serving me the rum. The ice clinked softly against the glass as I took it.
"You seem to have a bit of an accent. Pray tell me, what are your origins?" I asked, taking a chaste sip.
"I'm not talkin' about me personal life, now. This is strictly business."
"I see. Well then, could you tell me anything concerning the "High Tide" pirates?"
At this her eyes widened. She crossed her arms and pursed her lips, staring intently towards the wall. Well, she had wanted a straightforward question and I had given it to her. She looked a little hesitant to speak now, but seemingly because she was paid she knew she had to respond.
"Aye. I know of 'em. Those damned pirates stole away everything that I ever deemed important. The captain is a fearsome brute who has a devil fruit ability. He can control the ocean. Usin' that he flooded my entire village, killin' everyone I loved." Her eyes remained dry, but I noticed her hands clenching her arms tightly. So much for avoiding personal topics.
"I'm sorry to make you recollect such unhappy memories, but you see I have recently had a dear friend been taken away by these same pirates." She gave me an alarmed look. I pulled out the book from my satchel and laid it on the coffee table between us, opening it to the page I had read earlier.
"Do you recognize this man?"
She glanced down at the page and immediately narrowed her eyes.
"Aye, that's 'im. That's the captain alright. I wouldn't forget a face like his for anythin'." She quickly read the small passage. "So I'm thinkin' you've already guessed I'm from Daidaiiro?" I nodded.
"But I'm also very curious as to how you are alive and well today."
"I was visitin' with the distant family here in Abanon see, when it happened. When I went ta go back, there was nothin' left but hollowed out homes and bloated bodies everywhere. There was nothin' left but death n' despair." The sadness had finally reached her eyes, and I reached out a hand to comfort her.
"I'm very sorry to hear that. This is not good news to hear knowing that he has my friend under his control." I shivered. At this she seemed to snap back to the present from whatever horror she had been reliving in her mind's eye.
"That's right! He has your friend! That bastard," she growled. "Ask me anythin', I'd be happy to oblige ye."
"Well I was wondering if they had been seen on this island?" I asked, letting the hope creep into my voice.
"Twice they've visited here. The firs' time wasn't long after he done that nasty deed. Had the gall ta come to this very bar in fact! I wanted ta kill the lot of 'em, but what can I do against such powerful men? It'd be like a flea poundin' against a hog's back." She sighed and put her head in her hands in defeat.
"And he had Ilana with 'im! Dear, sweet Ilana! At firs' I thought she had gone of her own free will and I was angrier than a spit. But when I called out her name she didn't recognize who I was! Just looked at me with those blank eyes, like she was tryin' to remember somethin' but couldn't. He must've done somethin' ta her. She was one of me best mates!"
I moved onto the couch beside her, daring to lightly rub her back consolingly. Surprisingly, she let me.
"The second time was not too long ago. This time she wasn't with 'im. She was gone. I was stormin' angry, and before I knew it I was screamin' at 'im, 'What'dya do with her? What'dya do ta Ilana?' Before I knew it he was holdin' me up against the wall with that accursed power of his, screamin' back at me to shut the hell up or he'd let the water go in my lungs and stay there. So I shut me trap, he let me go, and I haven't seen 'em since." A single drop fell on the floor below, making a small splash before seeping into the woodwork.
After a while I said, "that is one of the saddest stories I've ever heard." I wasn't lying. Hoping to bring her mind off her friend, I asked, "what was your village like?" She wiped her eyes and smiled.
"Ah, it was a beauty if there ever was one. Buildin's as sturdy as mountains, waterfalls flowin' in everyone's backyards, and children playin' on the streets. We didn't have ta worry about anythin' cause people were so trustworthy. Everyone had red hair like mine and spoke just like me. I miss hearin' that." She seemed to pull herself together and sat up.
"Well, I'm supposin' there's nothin' else I can tell ye on the subject. I think your money's got you well enough information from me."
"Indeed it has. Thank you very much, Arianna-chan. I hope this information will be useful when rescuing my friend." She put a hand on my shoulder.
"God speed ta you and ye friend. May she hang on long enough ta be rescued."
Using my ability, I made a chain of legs appear on the side of Sunny. I jumped from one to the next until I was once again safe and sound on Sunny's deck. I was satisfied with all the information I had gathered today, and couldn't wait to tell my nakama what I had learned. But looking around the only people I saw were Senchou and Swordsman-san. Senchou was on the figurehead, lying with his straw hat over his face. Zoro was leaning against the mast, but as I watched he got up and walked over to Luffy, leaning against the railing. I decided to retire to the women's quarters for now, but not before making an ear appear on the railing underneath Swordsman-san's hand.
"Are you gonna stay pouty like this the entire time?" I heard him ask. "It's not usually your thing to dwell on the past."
There was a brief silence, but then I heard, "it's my fault. She was taken right in front of me, and there was nothing I could do."
"None of us could. So it's all our faults. Don't put the whole burden on yourself." Zoro retorted.
"I'm the captain, it's my duty to carry you guys' burdens." Luffy answered just as quickly. Zoro was silent at this. "Besides, it's Nami." I smiled.
"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Zoro.
"Nami's different. She needs me more than the others, and I failed her."
"Don't you mean you need her?" I could hear the smile in Swordman-san's voice. There was again silence, then:
"I do. More than she knows." Zoro chuckled.
"We're back!" came Sniper-kun's voice from outside. I let the ear disappear in a shower of petals and came out on deck. Along with him were Brook, Sanji, Franky, and Chopper. Apparently they had met up and all come back together.
"We got a log pose!" Senchou stood, his seriousness seeming to have been forgotten.
"Yosh! Let's set sail for Breech!"
"Aaayyyeee!" everyone shouted in agreement. Taking my position as temporary navigator, I pointed Franky in the right direction. After hurriedly stowing away provisions and furling the sails, there was a cry of:
"COUP DE BURST!" from Franky, and we were flying on our way to save our one and only true navigator.
Yay! This one was longer than the rest! I hope I didn't go too overboard with the emotional parts :3 sorry, I'm a sucker for feelies. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know I had a lot of fun writing it!
Don't hesitate to review! I'm always trying to improve my writing :S Thanks! Love you all!