Leo quickly pulled me towards him, effectively dodging the attack. And that was the exact moment I realize exactly how useless I was, and not jus amongst people like Luffy.
The whole blindness thing was going to become a big thorn in everybody's side, not just mine. I bit down on my bottom lip. Okay, think, Usopp is kinda useless, and he still lives. Plus, he's also a long-range fighter like I am!
Yeah, well, Usopp can see, dumbass.
"And once again, Cecilia's overconfidence ends up biting her in the ass," I muttered. Leo fired some shots while trying to protect me. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered if he was going to run out of bullets soon, but then I stopped, afraid that I was going to, you know, jinx it or something.
My eyes tried to follow Wy's movements, but I couldn't catch up. I notched Thor's Arrow anyway, praying that luck was on my side today.
Apparently it was, (for once) and Leo connected one of his shots. Wy slowed down considerably, and I raised my weapon. Figuratively crossing my fingers, I took aim and let go of the arrow.
Unfortunately, it missed, but it did hit one of the insignificant grey lights in the background. Groping for another arrow, I grabbed the Sagittarius one and notched it. Come on, mystical zodiac sign arrow! Be useful! Letting go once again, I saw Wy nimbly jump out of the way. I felt slightly disappointed, and went to grab yet another arrow.
And then shit hit the fan.
The Sagittarius arrow light fucking curved, and went after Wy.
I swear, my jaw fell to the floor. Absent-mindedly, I felt the Thor's Arrow finally reappear in my hand. Leo and I just stood there like idiots while we (and the rest of the greys) watched the Lacriyon and the arrow in a game of Cat and Mouse. Wy even dived into the water in desperation, but the arrow just hovered in the air, as if it were waiting for Wy to resurface.
I told you, shit hit the fan. And this was some serious shit.
"DEVIL FRUIT!" some fishman yelled, but I didn't even register it. My eyes were glued to the arrow and the logic side of my brain started to work overtime. Major overtime.
Luckily, Leo seemed to have snapped out of it faster than I did, and started shooting at the few fishmen who decided to come at us. Wy finally came up, and began to swim rapidly in order to get away from the arrow.
Derek, what the hell have you entrusted in the hands of a teenage girl?!
Unfortunately for Wy, he couldn't run forever, and he was struck with the arrow. I notched Thor again, ready to deal a finishing blow.
But, of course, another Lacriyon entered the scene. I had just released the arrow when a sudden powerful gust of wind blew in my direction, actually sending it back. I ducked frantically, and only got a glimpse of the second black light. "Business is done, Arlong, my time is up!" Wy shouted.
When I looked up, they were both gone. I had no time to think about why, however, as the nameless fishmen started to attack us.
And this apparently made Arlong very unhappy. "Hey! You can't just steal my magician!" he shouted. "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"
But then Luffy punched him, so that was all good.
Speaking of Luffy…
"Leo, does he win with his feet in the ground?" I asked, shooting at a fishman.
"Er, no," he replied. "I guess Arlong didn't throw him in the water because it's still filled with electricity from your attack. Even though Luffy is the only one immune to electricity considering he's rubber, thus none of us would be able to save him." Leo muttered the last sentence.
"Well, whatever, I'm not questioning logic anymore. Especially not antagonist logic. So now what?"
"Hopefully Sanji or Zoro will finish their fights soon and break him out."
However, the more I watched Luffy's fight, the more I realized that he was losing. Sanji and Zoro were nowhere to be found in my peripheral vision, and I decided to take my own course of action. Okay, what can break rock? I asked myself. Extreme heat and cold, right? Okay, okay, okay, now what?!
The onslaught of fishmen kept coming, but it was a small number that my brother could handle. Time to start experimenting…
I grabbed a random arrow, and shot it. The grey light faded out of existence, but that didn't necessarily tell me anything about the arrow. I notched another one. When the streak of white connected with the grey, it was not pretty.
And I'm saying that while I'm blind.
An audible boom was heard, and I was splattered with…liquid. A squishy…chunk of something hit my arm. I shuddered.
"Did that do what I think it did?" I whispered fearfully.
"Yeeep," Leo answered, dragging out the word. The arrow returned, and I felt its fletching. It was just a simple zigzag pattern.
"Explosion Arrow," I muttered. I looked up at the fight between Luffy and Arlong. Arlong continued to pummel Luffy over and over, while all the Strawhat boy could do was stand there and take it. Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp were still nowhere nearby, so I took matters into my own hands.
Alright, I can not shoot it. I might hit Luffy, considering I can only see a little ball of light, not his entire body. Aw shit…
"Leeeeoooo," I whispered. "I have a plan. Take my arrow and give me your gun!"
Thankfully, my usually idiotic brother understood immediately. Shoving the gun into my hand, he grabbed the Explosion Arrow and ran towards Luffy. Meanwhile, I took shots at the fishmen. I wasn't very good at it at first, since I wasn't expecting much recoil. Unfortunately, the first time I pulled the trigger, I nearly fell over from the force.
Leo made his way through the fishmen somewhat slowly, having to punch a few for good measure. With my bow in my left hand and the gun in my right, I also made my way forward.
Which was an incredibly stupid idea.
I was doing fine for about five seconds, but then I tripped and fell. Panicking, I scrambled to get back up again, but it was too late. A fishman reached me and promptly punched me in the stomach, and I could feel the impact even through my chest guard.
I hacked up something, and couldn't breathe. I've never even been slapped before, let alone punched! Why was I so foolish to think I could be of any help whatsoever in a major battle like this?
Adding injury to injury (and yes, I do know how the original saying goes. I'm merely warping it to fit my circumstances), it seemed Leo was successful, and a chunk of flying rock hit me squarely on the forehead.
The next few seconds were the most painful ones of my life. My sunglasses were gone, probably broken. My bow had disappeared as well. I tried to grab some arrows to stab my attackers with them, but unfortunately, it didn't work.
Faintly, I could hear Leo yelling in the background, explosions, and the smell of fried fish. So this is where I die, I thought morbidly. How pathetic. What are they going to put on my gravestone? Here lies Cecilia, who got pummeled to death by fishmen, because she was too stupid to realize that a blind person would not help in a battle between pirates.
Then came the sound of something slamming onto flesh. The attack on me slowed, until it stopped completely. I cautiously cracked open my left eye.
"Are you okay, Cecilia-chan?" Sanji asked me. I opened my mouth to reply, but then I promptly rolled over on my side and vomited. How attractive, a part of my brain criticized. I willed myself to shut up, and then stopped puking once all I was coughing up was acid.
"Thank you," I managed to say. "And sorry."
"Aw, it's okay!" Sanji went from gentleman to fanboy. "I'm glad you're alright!"
"Where're the others?"
"All the fights are finished except for Luffy's," he replied. I swept my eyes over the battlefield. Once all coloured lights were accounted for, I directed my gaze to Luffy. Meanwhile, Leo pulled me into a tight hug from behind, almost cutting off my air supply. However, instead of elbowing him in the gut like I would usually do, I let him, and I may have leaned into the hug a little.
Finally, Arlong plummeted to the ground, and Luffy stood victorious.
I think I may have cheered louder than I've ever cheered before.
-SCENE-TRANSITION-LINE-
I sat on the grass, listening to Usopp ramble about his fight with a powerful fishmen. Music was playing in the background, and there was plenty of food, most of which were made by Sanji.
I gulped down my water greedily, trying to get the bitter taste of acid and blood out of my mouth. The whole first encounter thing with Ravenia was definitely not my first battle, I mused. This was. For a moment while I was being (for lack of a better term) pwned, I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.
And in hindsight, it was indeed kind of pathetic.
I had never actually done anything worth thinking about, other than striving to get straight A's and whatever.
"I gonna need to do some serious thinking," I muttered, chuckling a little. Sanji walked up to me and handed me a platter of food. I gratefully accepted it, and carefully poked at something with the fork provided.
"Thanks again for saving my ass back there," I said. "I'm really really really sorry I was so stupid."
"To err is human," he replied coolly, breathing out a puff of smoke.
"Alexander Pope?" I asked, confused.
"Hm? No, that quote is from some Oharan scholar."
"Oh. Weird. It's just that this Alex guy said that quote in my, er, world."
"Oh really."
That awkward moment when you have nothing to say.
For better or for worse, Leo decided to intrude on our 'conversation'.
"Hey, C!" he jogged up to us. "Sorry, but your sunglasses and bow are broken. Like, into pieces."
"S'okay," I replied. "The next place is Loguetown, right? I'll find new stuff there." I extended a hand to my stomach, where I could feel a large dent in my chest guard. Sighing, I ate a piece of meat while wondering where the hell I would get money to pay for such things. "It's not like I can get birthday money anymore…"
Leo gasped dramatically. "It's almost your birthday!" he exclaimed. "What day is it?!"
"The, uh, twelfth, of October."
"Five more days!" Leo hugged me. This time, I punched him repeatedly until he let go.
"How old are you turning?" Sanji joined in.
"Eighteen," I replied, resigning to my fate. Sanji then went on to ask me if I have any allergies. When I shook my head no, Leo grabbed it and made me nod.
"I'm allergic to perverted blond chefs," he said in a high-pitched voice. I slapped his hand away and glared at him. Without missing a beat, Sanji then asked,
"Chocolate or vanilla? For your cake, that is."
"You don't have to make me anything," I assured. "Compared to my other birthdays, as long as Leo can't drag me on an 'adventure', I'll be fine."
"But such a lovely fallen angel should be showered with gifts of all kinds when she is celebrating the day she becomes of age!"
And here comes the poetic flirting.
"Really, I'm okay. And I am not an angel."
"Yes, now go away," Leo added. Sanji gently took away my cup.
"I'll get you some more water," he said, walking away. I heard Leo sigh heavily beside me.
"I really do hate him."
"I really do hate you," I replied, eating some more. "Hey, did you see what happen to that Wy dude?"
"Oh yeah! Well, he was mumbling something, I couldn't hear what, I just saw his lips move, and then this other guy comes out of, like, nowhere and sort of…commanded the wind to blow in our direction. Then Wy shouted something to Arlong, and they both disappeared."
"Damn Lacriyons…" I muttered.
"They're everywhere, aren't they?" Leo said. I put my cleared-off plate next to me and put my chin in my hands.
"No shit, Sherlock."
-SCENE-TRANSITION-LINE-
A few days later, while we were still on the sea, my birthday reared its ugly head. That morning, Leo and Luffy burst into the woman's cabin and yelled 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' at the top of their lungs. Thankfully, Nami swiftly threw pillows at both of them, and we got up in relative peace.
I dragged a brush through my bedhead, which was always horrible. Luckily, that morning it was relatively easy to straighten out, and I headed into the dining room/kitchen.
"Happy eighteenth birthday, Cecil!" Luffy said enthusiastically. "Here's your present from me!" He dropped something into my hand. The moment I felt it move, I shook my hand wildly, screaming, 'get it off, get it off!'
"Aww, you don't like hermit crabs?" Luffy pouted.
"Not when they're forced on me this early in the morning!" I shouted. "That nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry," he said, sounding dejected.
"Eh, um, it's okay, just give me some warning next time," I hurriedly reassured. At this, he seemed to brighten up immediately.
"Okay! Here, I'm gonna put Harry on your head, alright?" Without waiting for an answer, he did exactly as he said. I cringed, waiting for it to sink its pincers into my brain or something equally painful. Instead, to my surprise, it just moved a bit then stopped, content.
Harry the Hermit Crab, I thought. Cute name.
The rest of the crew wished me a happy birthday, and Sanji promised me a cake beyond my wildest dreams later. I thanked him profusely, and then sank into a chair at the table. Across from me sat Zoro, and his only comment was "You're old enough to drink now."
I tried to resist the urge to headdesk, considering that I had a living creature on my head.
The rest the day was normal as usual, and I just tried to relax and enjoy the sea.
But, of course, my luck never really seemed to last all that long.
-SCENE-TRANSITION-LINE-
Yo peoples! So sorry for not posting this chapter until now! But, man, I started writing this yesterday, and now I'm done! I AM ON A ROLL.
The poll ends very soon, but don't worry if your favourite character doesn't win. Romance will not be a very big factor in this fanfiction, and so you can still enjoy this story as a whole!
See ya later,
:3
-NomSujet
