Anything Could Happen| 1.7 - Where the Hell Have you Been Killer?

"Where's Kid?" Lola repeated loudly. "More like, where the hell have you been?!" She shrugged his grip off her shoulders and frowned. "We've been looking for you all day!"

"Don't talk so loud," Killer ordered, peering behind the tree. "We're still close to the sheriff's…"

"I know," Lola said, pushing past him. "I was heading over there right now." She was stopped by his grip on her arm.

"Stop," he said. "Don't go there. They're looking—"

"For me and Kid," she interrupted. "I know. Now let go so I can clean this mess up!" She pulled her arm back, but it did no good.

"That's not the best thing to do right now," Killer said, pulling her back and away from the trees. "We need to stick together right now…figure this out…"

Sighing, her arm went limp as she allowed him to drag her through a small nature trail. This isn't fair…I just want to fix all of this…why doesn't anything ever go my way? "How far are you going to take me?"

"…"

"Huh?" she said when he didn't respond.

"…"

"At least say something!" she whined.

He cocked his head back and said, "Something."

Great. "How about you tell me where you've been, huh? We wouldn't be in this mess if you didn't just disappear like you did."

He paused and released her forearm. "What do you mean?" he asked as he continued forward, with her quickly following after.

"I mean," she huffed as she caught up to him, "that all of this happened because we went out looking for you. And while we were out looking for you, Kid got into a fight with one of the city watch…"

"…that explains why there was a man going through your apartment."

"You know about him?" Frowning, she thought, how would he…unless…She gasped. "Did you…kill him?"

"He attacked first."

"B-but…" she trailed off.

He turned towards a clearing. "Over here," he said, stopping to turn and face her. "This seems far enough…" Glancing down at her, he began. "I left this morning to check on the boat…there was a morning addition of the weather report, and it was about the storm…I wanted to see how strong our boat would fair…"

"This whole time?" she asked.

"Not exactly…The boat seemed to have survived the night, but there were men poking around it when I got there. I'm not exactly sure who they were, but I believe they're the men whom you referred to as the city watch. When I approached them, the spoke of boat fines and rules and how I had to pay to keep the boat in the harbor…"

"Uhh…yeah…" Lola slowly said. "That's custom around here."

"…"

"Did you pay?" she asked.

"No, of course not. I told them I didn't have the money…they didn't take too kindly to that." He lifted up his fist and showed her a cut across his knuckles. "They thought it wise to start a fight…"

"Did…you…kill them as well…?"

"No," he answered slowly, voice almost said like. "I knocked them into the water and left before they should swim back to the docks."

"Oh."

"And when I got back to the apartments, that man was in there. I asked him who he was and why he was there, but he answered by pulling out a gun, and well…you know the rest."

"…" This guy…his name suits him…

"What about Kid?" he asked quickly. "Where is he?"

"I don't know…" Now he's the one gone… "I last saw him when we went back to the apartment and found the guy. He told me to pack some things and went outside to wait…but when I was finished, he was gone…"

"He might have gone to check out the boat," Killer suggested.

"Maybe…"

Heavy footsteps could be heard nearby.

Killer quickly went over to a tree, peering around it and watching the small street nearby. "Somebody is heading pass here…"

Lola approached him and hide behind him, peering over his shoulder. She watched as three men quickly ran by, guns in hand and angry expressions on their faces.

"Hurry," one snapped. "Boss called in about some fucking pirate causing trouble near the tavern!"

"Right!" the other two said together, quickly following after.

"Pirate…" Lola whispered. "It's probably Kid!"

"It is Kid," he corrected. "Only he would go pick a fight with all of them at once." Turning to face her, he said, "Know where this tavern is?"

Yes. I know exactly where it is…but should I risk being seen with them...? Nodding her head and flexing her fists, she said, "Follow me."


Screams and curses could be heard as the two approached the back of the town. Eleven men stood around one, clearly an uneven fight, but the one amongst them didn't seem fazed by the ordeal.

"Killer!" Lola gasped as she pointed forward. "There he is!" She cried out as the pirate pushed past her and towards the situation, 'causing her to fall over on her bottom.

"Stay there!" Killer ordered.

As two men lunged out at Kid—one from each side—Killer quickly interfered and knocked down one as Kid took a jab at the other.

Sneering, Kid said, "Took you long enough to join the party, Killer."

"Looking for you isn't as easy as you think," Killer growled back. His scythes slide out silently as he took a fighting pose.

The redhead laughed. "Me? You're the one who disappeared!" He grunted when another man ran at him, sword pointed directly at his chest. Grabbing the neck of the attacker's shirt, he threw him across the road.

Killer went after one of the bigger men, jumping up and kicking his heel into the man's face. Landing back down, he said, "Let's make this quick!"

The redhead removed a pistol on his belt and smirked. "I was doing fine before you even got here." He fired into the group of men, taking two down before they even realized what hit them.

Running after another, Killer took a quick slash across a man's right shoulder. The blade sunk deep into the flesh, tearing away muscle and precious blood vessels. It came to a stop at the bone. "A thank you would do," Killer huffed before going after the next target.

Kid only laughed.

Over from her spot, Lola watched in utter amazement. They're…actually betting them…those two…Getting up, she felt adrenaline start to kick in, heart pounding and eyes wide in excitement. They're pretty tough.

One by one, the men of the island's city watch fell. Those men, whom she grew up to fear and obey…who manipulated the town decisions and unfaithfully taxed had fallen like flies. And as it seemed that the tables had turned, something landed across the back of her head, sending her back down to the ground.

Everything stung. Her vision blurred, her nostrils brunned, and the taste of her blood lingered in her mouth. She ran her tongue across a new wound inside her cheek, where she had accidently bitten down from the shock of this new blow.

Her fingers slowly reached for the back of her head, feeling for the damage. She winced when she found the spot, but there was no blood or open cut.

Then she heard voices.

"Is that the girl you spoke of?" said one familiar deep voice.

"Why yes, she is," spoke another in a lisp. "Was there when that redheaded son of a bitch jumped me. She helped him, she did."

"We'll deal with this one later." Boots shuffled by her. Glancing up, her heart stopped as she watched the mayor and his son—the man from the tavern—walk towards Kid and Killer.

"Leave these two to me," the mayor ordered. He was of built proportions, tanned from years out in the sun, and with greying of hair. The mayor was always a rough man, short answers, tough, straight to the point sort of man. A scar covered the right side of his neck.

She felt all hope go.

Nobody ever fights the mayor…

Nobody ever survives the mayor…

She opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. She was too afraid. Run, her mind ordered her to scream. Tell them to get out of here. But nothing came out past her lips.

And so, in horror, she watched as the known devil-fruit user of the island and his son approached the two pirates.

This is your entire fault…


To be continued…


Next time: The mayor, a devil-fruit user, starts a fight with the two pirates. Lola ends up having to actually do something rather than sit there in fear. Quick decisions are made and this introductory section slowly starts to come to an end.