Author's Note: So I've gotten a few readers asking about what Anandi looks like. Honestly, I don't think it's necessary to describe her and the biggest mistake writers make is spending forever describing an OCs appearance in every detail instead of focusing on their actual character. For the curious, I have mentioned she has dark hair long enough to be tied back and dark eyes. Her name is taken from a very influential Indian doctor, so if you want, you can think of her as Indian. Overall, I don't know myself really, so feel free to imagine how she looks and enjoy the chapter!
"Come try your luck!" Amberjack Pen drawled only a bit louder than his normal speaking voice to the passer groups; he was practically slumped over in his chair and gave the impression he couldn't care less if people spent a cent on his game. But then, it was so simple and straightforward, he didn't really need to put much effort into drawing in customers.
"Excuse me, may I ask you a question?"
Pen barely looked up as he picked at his teeth. "You just did."
Anandi smiled. "So I did. I was wondering if you could direct me to the Public Employment Security Office?"
Pen sighed and raised his eyes to look at her. "Lady, do I look like a tour guide?"
"So you don't know? I do apologize for bothering you, but as you can see, it's important I arrive in a timely manner. I have some reliably sturdy yet sadly commonplace merchandise I need taken off my hands."
Pen peered over at the three hulking shapes; in contrast to Anandi's finely spun and adorned dress, the fishmen wore tattered clothes and cloaks to cover the majority of their faces and other features that would give away what they were. Despite himself, Arlong looked out from under his hood and gave the young man a thin scowl.
"Ah. And, uh, will you be okay transporting this 'merchandise' on your own?" Pen raised an eyebrow; she was barely tall enough to come to their chests.
Anandi let out a light titter of laughter. "Nonsense! They're well trained, I assure you. Not to mention restrained for good measure."
Pen looked her in the eyes and she stared right back at him, praying her mannerisms didn't seem too forced. It was smart of Arlong to insist that Shioyaki, Chew, and Pisaro stay behind to make sure the ship was ready to set sail once they were done; a few traders to a few dozen fishmen and a few merpeople seemed reasonable, but it might have looked too suspicious for one young woman to be traveling with a whole group of fishmen with barely any measure of security. She attempted to gracefully push her hair off of her shoulder and let it flutter behind her as she sent Pen a polite smile.
"Now, do you know where I should be headed?"
Pen leaned back in his chair, the two legs raised in the air as he kept his balance. "I know, but what's in it for me if I tell you lady?"
"Are you just the opportunist? I'm afraid my pocket book is a bit light for any unscheduled transactions."
"This little shit." Arlong stared down at the ground, gritting his fangs; he didn't think he'd be the one who was more at a risk for blowing their cover than Anandi, but then, look at the human trash they were having to deal with.
Pen smirked lightly. "You're no noble, but you're definitely no commoner. You must got some cash to spare for me."
Anandi didn't miss a beat. "Unfortunately no. But I can spare time for an unscheduled gamble."
Pen snorted. "You think I'll let you play for no money?"
"I'll play your game and if I win, you tell me where to go."
"If you lose?"
"I get nothing."
"Nah, that won't cut it." Pen smiled. "How about one of your pets over there?"
"They are not pets."
"Whoa, calm down lady." Pen sat straight up in his chair at the harsh coldness of Anandi's voice. "What the hell...where did that come from?"
"These fishmen are trained to serve and protect me. They are not common trinkets for slimy little boys who wouldn't know how to make use of them." Anandi said in one haughty breath; it was all she could do to keep the angry flush from rising on her cheeks.
"Okay, okay, sorry for insulting your fish people." Pen said evenly. "Fine, how about this? I go with you to the Public Employee Security Office and you give me just a little cut of the money you get."
Anandi opened her mouth to speak, but Hatchan's low voice made her pause.
"My mistress, may we speak with you? One of us is feeling ill."
Anandi took the hint. "You must be joking. Say something earlier you idiot, you need to be in the best condition if I'm going to get my money's worth!" she folded her hands in front of her and breathed in deeply as if to compose herself. "Um…"
"Amberjack Pen."
"I will be back in just a moment." Anandi's swift turned made her skirt fly around her legs as she set her cold gaze on her three crewmates. They walked a little ways away to another booth and she kept her straight backed pose as she spoke, though her voice was considerably softer.
"I'm sorry Hachi-san-"
"Nevermind Doc." Arlong said roughly. "Hachi, what the hell are you thinking?"
"Boss," Hatchan whispered and kept his head down. "We don't know exactly where the auction house is and we're losing time. Let's just let that human show us the way; once we don't need him, we snap off these ropes and take him out."
"Take him out?!" Anandi put her fingers to her mouth, not daring to look around so as not to seem suspicious.
Hatchan shook his head. "Anandi-chan, whether you like it or not, it's what we need to do. This human could risk us the mission."
"We can't just kill him-"
"Doc, just who the hell do you think we are?" Arlong's low chuckle was barely audible. "You want to be one of us, right? Well, things can get a bit messy, so this is something you're going to have to get over."
"Oh come, can't we just knock him out? It's be easy and one less thing we have to do." Anandi asked.
"You're being too soft."
"You just want to kill someone!"
"Boss, the human has a point. If someone sees us kill him, it could cause a scene." Kuroobi spoke up. "Let her use that stuff in her syringe. It will knock him out, right?" he sent Anandi a clearly skeptical look. He was making it clear he was agreeing for rationality's sake, not hers.
"It will. Captain, let me handle this. If someone sees you guys killing him, it'll blow our cover. It makes more sense if I do something that won't draw attention." Anandi whispered impatiently at Arlong's scowl.
"Fine. We take the shrimp and give him some sleepytime tea." Arlong said snottily.
Anandi sighed. "Let's just get through this alive."
They marched back to Pen, who pretended he hadn't been staring at them since they left. He gave Anandi what might have been an attempt at a pleasant smile but it came off more smug.
"Tummy ache settled?" he partially asked Hatchan, who remained silent as Kuroobi bumped his shoulder with his once Pen's gaze went back to Anandi.
"Amberjack-san, I will give you ten percent to guide me."
"Generous to be sure, but I would say it's still a bit lacking."
"How so?"
"Well, seeing as how there's no way you could win my game, the fact I didn't let you fail seems to suggest I deserve a little compensation for my honesty."
"Fine then. We'll talk business as you lead the way."
Pen hopped over the booth, but not before lightly touching the stack of bottles; with the barest motion, they collapsed and shattered to the ground. He didn't seem particularly concerned as he threw up a makeshift closed sign and stood in front of Anandi.
"Amberjack-san, you tricked me."
Pen looked genuinely surprised, but his keen eyes held a trace of mirth. "I didn't pull any tricks. And Pen is fine; you might as well be calling me 'Mr. Fish' if you use my last name."
Anandi raised an eyebrow. "You did so. All you had to do was poke those bottles and they fell over. And here you are saying I would lose for sure if I tried to knock them down."
"A delicate girl like yourself might have some difficulty."
"Yes, you're just swelling with muscles." Anandi looked straight in front of her as they walked but made sure to keep Pen in her sights as he strolled a few inches ahead. He couldn't have been much older than her and though she couldn't say he was scrawny, he certainly didn't look physically intimidating. She kept part of her gaze fixed on the back of his head, the short ponytail swinging slightly behind him. "What a pain in the neck. I never did like men with longish hair..."
They walked down the street, taking turn after turn; Pen seemed to know exactly where he was going. Frequently they crossed behind booths and stores and past alleyways; Anandi sincerely hoped for his own good Pen wasn't leading them astray. If that was the case and they didn't get to the captives in time, Arlong would personally saw his neck in half and she wouldn't have any say; she could feel him bristling behind her and she hoped he would remain silent and not grumble any remarks under his breath as Pen spoke with a confident sort of carelessness.
"I'm serious lady. If I had let you try to win my services, you'd be out of luck."
"You don't need luck to win a game like that." Anandi's somewhat superior tone wasn't fake. "You just need to know how to throw and aim a ball."
Pen's smile was so smug, she couldn't help feel curious; it's not as if he had some secret up his sleeve to making sure patrons always lost his simple little scam. He had no right to look so all knowing.
"If you cut me another ten percent on top of my thirty, I can tell you why."
"Thirty? When you bargain the payoff is supposed to be realistically high you know."
"You may not believe in luck, but you're curious, aren't you?" Pen said simply as they reached a more deserted area; the people here didn't look as easy going as the one's they had passed. It was apparent this crowd had other plans besides touring the island or enjoying rides.
"Fine, another ten percent." Anandi could practically hear Arlong's teeth gnashing, but it wasn't like there was any real money involved. She kept her eyes forward and waited.
"I assume you know what Devil Fruits are?"
Anandi almost turned back to give her companions a questioning look; there was hostility that was coming off them in waves and gave off a tense air, but it was lessened at Pen's words.
"I...well, they're supposed to give people powers, right?" Anandi said with a hint of skepticism. "But I've never heard of anyone actually eating one, at least anyone I know of."
Pen chuckled. "Today's your lucky day then. I ate one myself."
"You what?" Anandi almost tripped over her dress but caught herself before Pen could see. "Why? Isn't it dangerous?"
"It's true you don't know what ability you'll get from them, but it's not like I planned it." Pen drawled. "It was a while back; I stole it off a noble coming to the island. I was hungry, desperate, and it was practically right there. I heard they were planning on feeding it to a slave, but I thought 'what a waste'."
"A slave?" Anandi frowned. "Why wouldn't they eat it themselves?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'd think a woman of higher standing would know."
"Pardon me."
"You're excused." Pen said. "They thought it would be funny."
"Funny?"
"To see of they could make the slaves into freaks. I didn't really understand until I figured out what kind of fruit it was of course, but once I learned of the power I got, it hit me pretty quick what they meant."
There hard tone in Pen's voice made Anandi feel uncomfortable as she followed him; it didn't help that they were slowly encountering more suspicious looking people the farther they walked. She wondered why they weren't seeing more nobles, but she supposed they would enter the auction house in a different manner than the more grubby and loutish looking traders.
"Now that I think about it, why is Pen leading me to the way they go? Is he up to something? Well, it doesn't matter. Once we're there, I'll inject this into his vein."
Anandi's practiced eyes had long ago zoomed in on one especially prominent vein in Pen's skin; if she stayed behind him, she could use the syringe tucked in her dress front with discretion.
"Does it make you sick lady?"
"What?" Anandi almost bumped into Pen; he turned around to look at her from the corner of his eye.
"I can tell. It may not be my power, but you don't act like the others who come through here to sell their 'merchandise'." Pen sent the fishmen a look; they kept still and held their gazes to the ground. "When I mentioned about what the nobles would have done, you looked ready to turn green. And those guys...most women in your standing wouldn't have even allowed one near them; they'd be too scared of catching a disease or whatever bull they think the common folk and others have."
Anandi sniffed lightly. "That is just wive's tales; I'm an educated woman. In addition, I find those methods unnecessarily cruel and liable to devalue my servants; that being said, what the buyers of my fishmen decide to do with them won't be any of my business once the papers are signed and the money handed over."
"Not that it's any of my business currently." Pen chuckled dryly and turned back around, his pace a bit slower but his back stiff. "So, you guessed what it is I can do?"
Anandi tried to think. "It must be something really good for him to be so cocky. Super strength? Agility? Mind reading?"
"I can stack things real good."
Anandi stopped abruptly; she felt Arlong's nose stab her between the shoulder blades though she wouldn't be able to say whether it was an accident or not.
"Pardon?"
"I tested stuff out; they can't weigh more than a pound or so, but once I stack them, they can only be knocked down if I touch them." Pen explained blithely. "May sound pretty useless, but it's useful here. A sucker's born every minute and I need the cash. My booth makes a pretty penny off my blunder." Pen lightly grimaced. "But damn did that stuff taste bad."
"I suppose I was expecting something more...more."
"Yeah, that's how it goes sometimes. I got lucky enough that it could be of some use for me; luck is key. Your fish folks here sure don't have it."
Anandi forced back her scowl as Pen laughed. "I don't think I know what you mean."
"Oh, I wouldn't cross one of these guys for all the money in the world, but they're more screwed than a poor guy like me will ever be." Pen shrugged his shoulders. "They happened to be born lookin' like that; the common folk like me may avoid them, but we're not looking to sell their hides or anything. A lady of your position might not get it, but the people on the lower rungs just have to tough it out and hope for good luck. Lucky for me, I'm just a garden variety human to everyone else and no one's gearing up to buy me for their slave."
"What if the nobles knew you were a Devil Fruit user?" Anandi asked slowly. "They might consider you a rarity, even if the power seems mundane. You should be more worried to talk about it aloud around traders."
Anandi held back a yelp as Arlong poked her in the back hard once more; Pen's face was still trained away from her, so she turned around to give her captain a brief angry and questioning glare. If he kept poking her, he'd mess up their cover.
"What?"
"Well, it seems to be asking for to get snatched up on this area."
Pen turned his whole body around and stopped to stare at her; this time his look was really surprised and confused.
"What?"
"What?" Anandi replied, resuming her straight posture and tried to look superiorly perturbed. "I would say that's a sensible piece of advice."
"Follow me."
Pen led her and the three uneasy fishmen down another alley; he leaned back against the wall and Anandi shot him a glare.
"How long are you going to hinder my business?" she asked coldly. "Show me the way, or you don't get paid a cent."
"What's your deal lady?"
"Excuse you!"
"Drop the act, no one uses these buildings." Pen nodded to the opening of the alley; no one even stopped to glance their way, to preoccupied with their bounties. Anandi suppressed a wince as she saw two beautiful girls in skimpy garb being led in chains.
"You're not like any high class broad I've met. And the way you hold yourself is a dead giveaway; tone the haughty looks down and you might convince a child." Pen smirked at Anandi's confused gaze. "I was willing to just shut up and take the money, but this is too weird. What's your deal?"
Anandi clenched her fists, prepared to pull out her syringe; she knew her reflexes would be fast enough to at least catch him off guard.
"If you were the kind of person you act like, you wouldn't care about whether someone like me was putting themselves in danger of being traded."
"I was just making chit chat."
"And they way you talk about your fishmen is off too. Are you one of those fishmen sympathizers? I never thought I'd see one on this island of all places, but you're too out of place. I may not be educated' but I can sense bull a mile away. A guy like me has to you know."
Anandi felt her resolve to do whatever it took to take him out falter at Pen's bitter tone; he was obviously carrying a chip on his shoulder about his position in life. She could imagine him looking at the nobles with envy and anger at their frivolous ways and unjustified cruelty; just hearing about it made her feel sick, but he was witness to it who knows how many times.
"You are clever." Anandi conceded warily. "And you're nice."
"That may be a bit much." Pen laughed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I'm not above lying and stealing, but I'd never do it for the sake of it."
"That is nice…" Anandi looked over her shoulder at Arlong; their eyes met briefly and he was clearly impatient.
"What is she doing?! Just drug him and we'll be rid of this nuisance." Arlong wanted to hit her. "We're running out of time; at this point we can just follow the other traders to find the auction, so stop-!"
"Pen, tell me this. Why would you care if I was up to something?" Anandi pressed despite knowing her captain would surely curse her for her inquiry later. She was giving them away to a complete stranger; it was by no means a smart move, but Pen's smile dropped from his face at her question.
"Maybe I want in."
