"Super… novas?" I repeated. I thought that term was used in science. Something to do with stars, I knew that. It was a cool-sounding name, so I mildly remembered it. An idea hit me. "Maybe I could apply for Shinsekai!" Kidd looked at me for a total of four seconds, raising an eyebrow. He then snorted, and then began laughing his ass off. What was so funny? I blinked at him in question. My eyebrows furrowed. "Oi, are you laughing at me?" I demanded, puffing my cheeks out. He laughed even harder. I got a feeling of déjà-vu with this situation. It reminded me of my first date with Lucci. I had said something suggestive unknowingly and it made him chuckle. I didn't understand why he was laughing, so when I asked why, he chuckled even harder. I couldn't really call it a laugh. Now that I think about it, I've never seen Lucci laugh. I mean, actually laugh. When Kaku found out, he looked at me like I was nuts. Lucci? Laughing or anything close to it? Unheard of! But, that was the first time I learned how happy Lucci is around me. Kaku didn't give me much detail, but Lucci was a distant person, even from him, before he met me. I really want to know what kind of person Lucci was before I met him. But that could wait. Now I want to stick my tongue out at Kidd for laughing at me so much.
"You?!" he managed between his rumbling laughs. They sounded so sinister, for some reason. But they were real laughs, which made me happy that my |although he refused to admit it| friend was laughing, and mad that it was me he was laughing at. "You have even a less chance than I do!" I just huffed and turned my head away. As much as I hated the fact, Kidd was probably right. I'm not smart or a genius. Lucci or Ace could get in there easily. Nami could as well. She excelled in navigation, after all. It was her passion. I just really couldn't see myself getting in. I sighed. It's hopeless after all, huh?
"But, I can still try, right?" I beamed with confidence at him. For some reason, it pissed him off. Is there anything that doesn't piss Kidd off? Hmm…WAIT! No thinking! Thinking bad! Umm… distract yourself! Food! Food is always an option. Thinking of food is the only exception to thinking. I just realized how hungry I was…
"I'm hungry… Neh, Kidd? Got any food?" The scowl I got in response told me 'no'. "Well, you should!"
"Why, pray tell?" He rubbed his temples. The goth looked like he knew what the answer was, but wasn't going to like it.
"So you can feed me!" Duh! And he already knew the answer! He's slow sometimes. Oh, I did it again! I read his face! It's something Shanks taught me to know my opponent and what they were feeling based on the slightest movements of their face. Or something like that. It's odd, but there's only one person whose face I can't read. Lucci's. He can read mine, though. Strangely enough, he knows how to read faces too! Kaku told me once it was a 'natural talent' he was born with. His ability to do that actually helped me get out of that situation, but that's a story for later.
Kidd darted his golden eyes* to me. "I think I've had my daily dose of brain cell reduction for the day." Daily dose of wha-? He kept rubbing his temples and began to walk away. "That's right," he stated, probably remembering something. Maybe he remembered that he actually does have food and an undesirable urge to give it to me! "You look good in a dress," he smirked devilishly. Eh? What did- ? Oh no…
"I-I-I-I don't know what y-y-you're talking about!" I tried not to stutter as I kept from having eye contact with him. He didn't look convinced. "Did Law tell you?" I squeaked. If he had, oh, he was going down. I even paid the guy!
"It was fairly obvious. And I was piss drunk, so, it wasn't a very convincing façade." I felt the urge to crawl into a corner now. He yawned and walked away, muttering about how he was planning to avoid Law or something. I just sat up, went the other direction until I noticed something. Two guys walking up. They looked kinda familiar. Oh, right, my personal stalkers.
"THERE HE IS!" the one on the left exclaimed. I panicked. I didn't want them following me! I turned on my heel and made a sprint. Kidd hadn't gotten that far yet.
"Hi, Kidd! Bye Kidd!" I said quickly, zooming past him. My stalkers were close behind. He had a dumbfounded expression on his face. But he let it go. I stopped paying attention to him and made a sharp turn nearly knocking an old man over. "Wari, ossan!" I spoke in my national language. English wasn't my first one, Japanese was. Sometimes I use phrases unconsciously and people look at me weird. I don't have an accent, though. My stalkers were still following me, demanding that I wait. God, no! I don't want to be lectured by them! I saw a curly eyebrow up ahead. Sanji! I'd recognize that suit anywhere! "Oiii! Sanjiiii!" I called, extending his name by a few syllables. He looked at me and then understood that I was gonna ram him if he didn't think fast. His eyes got wide in that realization.
"Wait a minute, Lu- !" My friend didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as I yanked his arm and dragged him into a dark alley, covering his mouth. The stalkers went past us. I sighed and noticed that Sanji was struggling and turning blue. Ah, I was covering his nose! I quickly let go. He took a much needed breath, and used it to yell at me. "ARE YOU AN IDIOT?! YOU COULD'VE KILLED ME!" he yelled, the wind from his scream blowing my hair back. I quickly apologized. "Shitty bastard. What do you want anyways?" he scowled. Sanji yelled at me a whole lot.
"Sanji," I began seriously. The tone I had gained his attention. "I need some advice." I rarely ask Sanji for stuff, since he focuses on women and would normally brush me off. He was looking at me as if to tell me to continue. "I want to apply for that school in Raftel!" I exclaimed. "But, I hear it's really tough to get into. Should I still go for it? And…" I paused. "I have a question." I was shifting from one topic to another. Sanji was good at following what I said, after knowing me for so long, so he didn't mind. "Do you trust Lucci?" I was nervous about how Ace and Zoro acted around him. They dislike him, I knew that, but they're… wary of him. And I wanted to know if Sanji felt the same.
Sanji took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag. "First of all, I personally believe that you aren't cut out for Raftel." My heart dropped. Did he not want me to apply? "But, you aren't cut out for a lot of things, yet you end up being with them." Another drag. "Secondly, why ask me? I'm not really the supportive type, especially when it comes to men." He blew a circle of smoke, instead of a usual blow.
"Well, I wanted to hear your opinion! So, will you teach me?" I beamed my cute look at him. It usually convinces people, mainly Ace. He tries to resist, but it is futile! Heh, I sounded like one of those villains on those cheesy television shows that entertain kids nowadays.
"Teach you?" he repeated. I nodded hastily, the second question I had asked him already forgotten. "No, I don't have the time to be teaching a moron like you," he told me. I quivered my bottom lip and continued my puppy eyes look. "Ask your brother or Lucci to do it." That's right!
"And, to my other question?" I wanted the answer. Badly.
"Hm? Oh, right. Rob Lucci, let's see…" he waited a long time, thinking about his answer carefully. "Well, considering his past, I know that-," I cut him off.
"Past? What about it?" I questioned my womanizer friend. His curly eyebrow rose somewhat. What he said next had my mood darkened with fear.
"You mean you didn't know?" My jaw dropped ajar. What didn't I know? What was I supposed to know? "I thought he would tell you, of all people." Sanji anticipated that I would know something about Lucci's past. What was it?
"W-What do you mean?" I demanded. Was Lucci hiding something from me? No, I knew he was, but if he was expected to tell me about it, and Sanji, Zoro, and Ace all knew, why didn't I?
Sanji took a drag, much longer than the others he had up to this point. "CP9," he uttered. "Ever heard of it?" I thought about it and realized that not long ago, Zoro had asked me the same thing. I bobbed my head in response.
"Zoro mentioned it, but didn't explain it to me." I murmured. Sanji nodded in understanding.
"Go and ask your boyfriend what it is next time you see him. If he doesn't tell you, then don't pry into it," Sanji warned. "It's not something you should get mixed up in, mon héritier.**" I turned my head to him. French and Gaelic were my secondary languages, so I know what he said. It's Spanish I suck at. I can't even count to three or say hello. Any who, back to business, I'm pretty sure he just said 'my heir'. I tilted my head in confusion. "I've got to get going, see you at work tomorrow night." And he ran off, probably to flirt with some woman.
I took his advice. At work the next day, I went to Lucci's office. I was at the door, ready to knock. However, whenever I got the nerve to knock, it went away. The tight nurse outfit I was wearing wasn't very comfortable either. The high heels no less, bleh. I had long since abandoned wearing my mask because as Kidd said, it wasn't a very good disguise. I just exposed my face, not caring who saw me. I felt so free. Apparently, Bon-chan noticed my dilemma, and as a friend, opened the door, pushed me inside, and closed the door all in under half a second. Lucci looked up from his desk, acknowledging me. His office looked more like an officey type instead of a restaurant type, but I paid no note to it. "What is it?" His hair was in a handsome style, I noticed. A few locks were pulled behind his head, some escaping their confinement, the rest hanging freely, brushing his shoulders.*** It looked very nice on him. Hattori was perched on the desk, pecking at spare crumbs that Lucci probably put there. Hattori was so cute.
"I… um… Have to ask… Y-you something." It didn't come out quite as smoothly as I had wanted it to, but it was good enough. I strode over to him, careful not to fall. My feet betrayed me, those traitors, and I fell face first right in front of his desk. He took his reading glasses off, while observing my clumsy form. I hate heels. They are just pure evil. His curly eyebrows rose for some reason.
"So, three inches is your limit?" he stated. "You can't walk with four inch heels, apparently." He ignored the pain I was in. Or he just didn't notice. I struggled to get up, using his desk as support. Oy vey. "So," he continued, unaffected by my falling whatsoever, "what do you want to ask of me?"
I nearly fell down again had his desk not been there, but I nearly ended up doing the splits. "Can… I sit down somewhere?" I wanted to beg him to. I hate heels, have I mentioned that? I was halfway on the ground with my calves spread in opposite direction, struggling to stand up. I forced my body weight on Lucci's desk, used my arms for support to pull myself up.
"There are no other seats here." I glared at him. But not the menacing ones that I really meant. I would never look at him like that. I only give that look to people I hate, like those heels, and anyone who hurts my friends. I spoke through my gritted teeth.
"I'll sit on the floor." I growled. He didn't seem to mind. So, that's what I did. Until he circled the desk, picked me up like a bride, and sat back down, letting me sit on his lap. He expresses his feelings like that, through action and not a lot of words. I was facing him, and straddling his lap. He put his arm on the armchair of his chair |That's funny to say| and supported his head with his palm.
"Better?" he asked. I nodded happily, smiling. A hand circled my waist loosely. "And? What did you need of me?" I took a deep breath and looked in his eyes. Those forest eyes of his. Like an endless jungle, needing to be explored. He patiently awaited my answer.
"Neh, Lucci?" He looked at me. Oh right, he knew I was going to speak. "What's CP9?" I asked. His expression darkened to fear. His eyes were wide, mouth slightly open, and I could've sworn he was shaking. Why was he acting like that? My memory keeper in my brain decided to spring up something I learned years ago when training for preparation of succeeding the Akagami family. Old Lady Kokoro, or as I liked to call her, Old Monster Lady, taught me how to understand how someone is feeling when looking at the important details in their expression. Yep, she taught me how to read faces.
I decided to put what I learned from her to the test as I examined my boyfriend's face. Hmm… shocked eyes, parted lips, a bit of shadow on his eyes to darken the green in them, the blankness he had to his expression, I knew this one! It was called a 'Memory Flash' or something similar… It's when you have a bunch of memories rush through your head due to a word, action, or phrase. I feel so smart, remembering that. "Lucci?" I called. He didn't respond at all. Strange. Can't he hear me? His lips quivered in the slightest movement. I put my hands on his shoulders. "Lucci!" I called. He just sat there, still unresponsive. My boyfriend's breath hitched. Worried, I shook him heavily. He seemed to snap out of it now. I quickly put my ear to his chest to double-check something. His heartbeat, it was very fast. I couldn't believe it. Was Lucci scared? That can't be. He can't get scared. I never knew he could get scared.
"You okay?" I interrogated. He just glanced into my eyes. I noticed something. They weren't the same eyes that looked at me. They were different somehow. Then I wondered to myself, was he even looking at me?
"Who told you about that? And…" he paused and took a breath, "who told you that I had a connection to it?" Lucci sounded angry. No, I've never heard this tone from him. It sounded like hatred. When I looked into those eyes of his, I knew one thing. I wasn't looking at Lucci anymore. He was someone different. I felt like I was looking at a complete stranger who had Lucci's face. I tried to push that thought away.
"Oh, you want to guess? Okay!" I smiled cheerfully. "What can I say without completely giving it away…?" I pondered about this. How to describe Zoro and Sanji? "He has green hair!" Doh! That would completely have him guess it! Darn! Lucci just looked at me with those unfamiliar eyes.
"You met Fukuro?" Even his tone of voice and addressing me was different. Was I talking to his evil twin brother now? That would make sense. Alrighty then! How to act around him? Maybe he thinks that he's Lucci, so I guess I could act like I act around Lucci. Easy going, no sudden movements, or he could be on to me.
"No. What's a Fukuro?" I tilted my head. I really should try a career in acting! He is none the wiser. "It was Zoro, silly!" I laughed with my 'shishishishi'. I gently poked him on the nose. "He mentioned it first, but Sanji was the one who told me it had something to do with you. So what is it?" I asked eagerly.
"Nothing that concerns you." I felt a little hurt by that. Why wouldn't he tell me? What was he being so secretive about it?
"At least tell me one thing about it!" I pleaded and gave him my puppy eyes look. He seemed unaffected by it.
"It," he paused again, "does not concern a brat like you. Stay out of it." He growled. I felt anger bubbling up inside me. I hated being called a brat! He knew that!
"A brat? Is that how you see me?" I nearly screamed at him. Evil brother or not, no one calls me a brat. Someone who is unable to do stuff others do. Someone who is weak…
His eyebrow twitched. Lucci let out a sigh. "It stands for Cipher Pol No. 9, is that enough information for you?" Each word that came out of his mouth pounded in my eardrums. What does Lucci have to do with Cipher Pol? Why is he connected to it? What is the connection? The glare Lucci was giving me now scared me. "You know it." His eyes narrowed. "How do you know it?" I immediately got off Lucci and walked backwards around his desk. He rose from his chair and took a step towards me. I took a step back. I hate those eyes he was looking at me with. "I asked you a question, Luffy." I hated the way he said my name. The heels kicked in again and I stumbled backwards and fell on my butt. Lucci bent down and gripped my chin with his hands. "Tell me." His voice was calm, but his eyes. Those damn eyes. Where was the love I always saw in them? There was no jungle, only an empty green barrier, blocking me from his thoughts.
"Who are you?" I said aloud, shocking Lucci. "You aren't Lucci."
"Not the one you know," he uttered under his breath. I jerked my head away from him and backed up, partially opening the door. Lucci slammed it shut before I could make my escape. Something was wrong with Lucci. Very wrong. What did Cipher Pol do to him? I kept backing up, until I met with a wall. My hands scrambled to see if it really was there. Unfortunately, it was. Lucci cornered me. "If you come down to it, how much do you actually know about me?" he interrogated. I bit my lip. I knew little to nothing about his background or anything.
"I know I love you." I whispered. That caught him by surprise. He backed up from me. "And I know you love me," I smiled. He just blinked. I was happy when I saw his eyes turning back to normal. They weren't a stranger's anymore! "Lucci!" I flashed him a grin before hugging him with everything I had. He loosely hugged me back, but the embrace tightened. Okay, now it was starting to hurt. My boyfriend let go after a while.
"Luffy, I-" I put a finger to his lips to shut him up.
"I'm just glad you're okay. I won't mention that ever again if it turns you into something like that, right?" I flashed him one of my signature grins. He let out a breath of air he seemed to be holding. "You can tell me some other time, okay?" I looked at him. He was the Lucci I knew and loved. He grabbed the hand I was using to cover his lips and tugged it down. Both of his hands cupped my face and he kissed my forehead. I brushed the thought of Cipher Pol and Lucci to the deep, far back of my mind. Little did I know how much that fact would affect me and Lucci.
.:.:.:.
*Are Kidd's eyes golden or red? The wiki on him says their red, but the anime shows them to be gold :/
**PLEASE, PLEASE do not look up what I put for phrases. I will translate them for you. A certain string of Italian phrases that Lucci says later on are crucial to the story and it would ruin it if you looked it up. And the ironic thing about this is I know little to no French, yet can have a natural conversation with a Spanish-native.
***I have no IDEA how to describe that hairstyle. There are pictures if you want a visual image. (Without the spaces)
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www . pixiv member_ ?mode=big&illust_id=24420442
