The Tragedy of the Golden Wolf
Author Notes: I have returned from vacation! But enough about that.
You know you've all been waiting for it…
Ace is back! Yay! We get some Ace time in this chapter. I missed him. The suggested track is meant for the scene where our heroes meet face to face.
Disclaimer: Still own nothing at all!
10: Jinbei the Gallant
Suggested Track: "Set the Fire to the Third Bar," Snow Patrol
"You didn't ask for medicine, old man! I felt unwelcome coming without it, so I brought you some anyway." Jinbei put down a big barrel of sake . "Well, old friend, what's the news? It's pretty weird for you to call on me for a favor, though I know I owe you a dozen."
"First, Jinbei, thank you for your gift." Whitebeard folded his arms. "But as I told you, you did not need to bring it. It is a great favor I call on you for. As you surely know, they have announced the date of Ace's execution. It is just over a month away."
"Aye, so I've heard. I'm hearing rumblings of war, and it sounds as though we will be enemies." Jinbei folded his arms. "I tell you, though, I dislike this greatly. Ace is a fine young man, and I hate to think of seeing him executed!"
"Let me assure you, so long as I can stand, Ace will not be executed," Whitebeard rumbled firmly. "Now, the favor I ask of you is as following: I need you to go visit him."
"Me? Why do you need me to visit him?" Jinbei frowned.
"As a dog on the chain of the World Government, you would be allowed in," Whitebeard explained gruffly. Jinbei snorted, but didn't retort. "The fact is, I wish to ensure he is still alive, that the World Government is not yanking our chain, as it were. In addition…" Whitebeard drew himself up a bit straighter. "I want you to take somebody with you." Jinbei was taken aback.
"Whitebeard, I can't smuggle one of your men in! It's crazy! It's damn impossible! Even trying it would guarantee the loss of my position!"
"I'm not asking you to smuggle a man in- not one of my men." The door opened, and Marco emerged with Banheart at his side. Jinbei turned around as they came onto the main deck. Marco's eyes flashed to Jinbei for a moment, and he quickly left, leaving Banheart alone between a Yonkou and a Shichibukai. Jinbei studied her for a moment as she stood on shaking legs in front of him.
"Her?" He furrowed his brow. She stared at him, open-jawed, and staggered back in pure awe of his presence. He put a hand on her shoulder to straighten her up, and then looked at her back. She shivered in fear as his eyes roved her body. "Well, she ain't one of your men."
"No, but she is my daughter. I will not risk your integrity or the safety of your people by asking you to break him out, but I ask you to take this woman to see him."
"Pops, do you mean to say-" Banheart stepped forward, out of Jinbei's grasp, with her eyes wide. "I can see Ace?" Whitebeard chuckled.
"I see that's brought a smile to your face."
"Were you Ace's lover?" Jinbei asked bluntly, a hint of shock in his voice. Banheart shivered at his voice, and glanced nervously over her shoulder to the whale shark.
"He was my friend, if nothing else," she replied timidly.
"Don't be bashful!" Whitebeard laughed raucously. "Jinbei, Ace deserves to know that he is soon to be a father! Two months after his scheduled execution, this woman will be due to bear his child!"
"You sure it's his?" Jinbei murmured urgently.
"He was the only man I was with, if that's what you're asking." Her cheeks turned red, and she found her old fire. "I… I won't let you insult my honor like that! I loved Ace!" She hung her head. "I still do."
"Of course- Sorry- I'm not saying you were untrue-" Jinbei stammered, before looking back to Whitebeard. "Newgate- you can't let this get out!" He folded his arms. "If they knew that Ace has fathered a child-"
"I know, I know. She would be in desperate peril, as would the child," Whitebeard muttered. "My men know very well that she is the family secret. I trust you, though."
"That's beside the point! You're talking about sending this woman, a girl in a delicate way, to see a man in hell!"
"S-Sir Jinbei!" Banheart found her guts again and interrupted. "I… I'm not that delicate! Really! I think I have the strength to handle myself! Even if he's been injured beyond recognition, I wish to see his face at least one more time! Please!" Jinbei looked at her, eyes narrow, and checked her up and down again.
"I'm sure you do, girl," he nodded in acknowledgement, before looking back to Whitebeard. "Anyone who looks at her will be able to tell-"
"I will say it is yours!" She couldn't hold back her plea. "Cover my face, call me your concubine, and I'll swear even to Ace's face that my child is yours! I'm begging you- I know I don't owe you any favors- please, sir!" The whale-shark Fishman studied her face for a moment.
"She's determined," Jinbei finally chuckled. "That's admirable. I don't like to do favors, Newgate. Only for those I truly care about… Seems like she truly cares about him, though."
"Her affection for him is strong," Whitebeard agreed, smirking after watching their indirect exchange. "Jinbei, I will repay this favor. Please, check on my son."
"I can't say no to you. Alright. I'll return to you with the girl as soon as possible." Jinbei bowed his head, and turned to Banheart. "From here, it is a four day trip to Impel Down through the Tarai current. Pack accordingly." She laughed with joy, and rushed off to grab her things.
Jinbei gave Banheart a hand across the gap between the rope ladder hanging off the side of the Moby Dick and his own vessel. Marco and a few other men from the First Division waved from the deck, and some shouted their farewells.
"Hey, tell Ace we miss him!"
"Give him cheers from us!"
"Tell him we'll kick his ass if he dies in a cell!"
"Take care of yourself, sis," Marco called with a small smile. She beamed back at them.
"I'll be back, guys!" She pressed her palm to her lips and threw them a kiss, and she saw Marco grab it from the air, still smirking evenly.
"Come on, let's get this show on the road," Jinbei grunted, ushering her into the cabin with his arm, as she waved her goodbyes to her brothers.
Jinbei was the only man aboard his simple little vessel. The cabin house served as the wheelhouse, galley, and sleeping quarters all at once, but it was completely empty, with all the furnishings folded back into the walls for efficiency except for one large armchair, the steering wheel, and a crate of books. Jinbei sealed the door and took the wheel. She soon felt the now-familiar sinking feeling of the ship descending into the depths, but stood shaking beside the door rather than bracing herself on his fold-out table, still clutching her battered old suitcase. He didn't look at her for a long time, finally glaring back at her as the boat steadied. "Take a seat, lass."
"Yes, sir," she agreed, and carefully lowered herself to the ground. She settled her weight to keep pressure off her back, musing for a moment as to how thousands of women had managed her condition for millennia, before cracking open her suitcase. She'd tucked a borrowed book into it, but she noticed something else on top of the pile- a notebook of blank music sheets. A note had been folded around it:
"Enjoy your trip- Pops"
"I'll have to thank him," she murmured to herself, as she took the enclosed pen and began to stare at the blank pages with a thoughtful smile. Jinbei seemed completely focused on his work at the wheel, but he shot her a quick look over his shoulder every once in a while. In her mind, she was trying to string together chords and melodies to find something that made sense, imagining each note and striking the keys in midair. After a while, Jinbei scoffed.
"How long you been with him?"
"Hm? You mean with Pops?" Her heart began to beat faster as she looked up- she had not yet had to acknowledge Jinbei in conversation alone, and he stepped away from the wheel to glower down at her. His watery eyes seemed to be boring through her, and she felt her arms begin to shake. "I've been with Pops for…" She bit her lip and tried to count. "S… Seventeen weeks, give or take a few days. Since just after Ace's arrest." She kept her words quick and her eyes focused on his feet. He grunted nonchalantly.
"You're no pirate, so you say." Jinbei took a seat in the armchair. "A girl who works aboard the ship and sails with pirates and consorts with pirates, and you say you're no pirate?"
"No, I'm just… just…" She swallowed hard. "I'm under Lord Whitebeard's protection. He's protecting me, and I'll do anything he asks me in return."
"Is that so?" He seemed to glower a bit more as he stared at the top of her head. "He calls you daughter and he seems to like you a whole damn lot."
"It's no less than he'd do for anyone else on his ship, or under his care!" She bit her lip after this outburst- it was hitting her only now that Whitebeard was not there and would not be there to protect her. She dropped the book and her pen and began to nervously crack her knuckles. Jinbei didn't seem impressed.
"Hmph. You're using him?"
"No… he… he's my Pops. He's my man's father, he's my father too. That'll all it is. He's not my captain, and I only follow his orders because he knows what he's doing." She thought about it for another moment. "Ace… he was my captain, but only because he was keeping me safe and his orders were meant to do that. I'm not a pirate."
"Safe." Jinbei scoffed as he glared down at her. "Well, I suppose that's what Whitebeard does. He's the patron of my home island; he keeps Fishman Island safe just by flying his flag there."
"Oh," she mumbled in acknowledgement. Jinbei seemed to growl under his breath as she shivered and wrung her hands together.
"Look at me, girl! Are you scared of me?" He folded his arms and held his head high. She forced herself to look at him again, and nodded. "Speak, girl."
"I am, sir!" She cried nervously.
"Bah! I thought so." Jinbei got to his feet and went back to the wheel. "Probably for the best- I could kill you."
"Will you?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.
"Why should I? What would be the point?" Jinbei seemed fairly disgruntled. "You're nothing but a little girl. You're no threat to me. I may be a Shichibukai, but I'm no pirate!" Jinbei checked his map, and she shivered and started trying to get to her feet.
"I… am I allowed to be scared of you? You have shark's teeth and you're obviously very strong, and there's nobody else here to protect me… I think I have the right…"
"You do." Jinbei scowled out the front window of his ship. "I told you. You're right to be scared of me. Fact is, though, reasonable men don't go around hurting women for no good reason."
"I've met men like that before," she murmured, giving up on getting to her feet alone. "I don't want to be hurt again."
"Well, I won't. But believe me, lass, if you do pose me a threat, I just might have to pose you a threat." He tilted the wheel, and water rushed past their view. "I've got a plan for how we can pull this little trick off, but you're going to need to do whatever I say. Don't expect a little lover's reunion, and you won't be delivering him any messages. You're going to see him just enough to see he's alive. Any more than that is liable to get us both killed! Got that?"
"Yes, sir," she agreed quietly.
"Alright, lass. That'll do." Jinbei gave her one more look, neutral and almost harmless, before looking back at his map and their path. She swallowed her fear and came up with the courage to speak a little more.
"Sir Jinbei…"
"What now?"
"Please stop calling me lass, and girl. I have a name, you know." Jinbei hid a smirk behind his back as she stared at the design on his robes.
"Sure you do. I'll keep that in mind."
Traveling with Jinbei was not nearly as bad as she had imagined it would be. Eventually, she got up the nerve to use furniture, leaning on a table as she worked on her newest composition. She'd finally found what she wanted to write about- Ace. She smiled to herself as she scrawled her ideas down, imagining each progression and trying to simulate it with her fingers in her mind. Jinbei didn't pay very much attention to her, either flipping through some book of his own or steering. She managed to swallow her apprehension- even if he was a Fishman, he didn't seem inclined to hurt her. She just didn't know what etiquette there was, if there was any, to life with one.
Dinner posed, perhaps, the biggest challenge. On the first evening of their journey, Jinbei surfaced to prepare dinner as they zipped along the current in the open air. He told her to steam the rice (despite her insistence that she didn't know the second thing about cooking, the first being "the smoke alarm does not mean it's done") while he worked up the proteins.
"What's your favorite thing to eat, missy?" He asked offhandedly as she threw out another batch of burnt rice.
"Grilled eel-" She stopped, realizing what she'd said, before quickly coming up with, "I mean, zucchini in teriyaki sauce."
"What's wrong with eel? Makes you sick now?" Jinbei didn't seem to react, but she quickly panicked.
"I-I-I don't like to eat fish at all! Really! Why, that would be cruel- wouldn't it?"
"Girlie, what do you think I'm cooking?" He scowled and held up a skewer of tuna. She turned a bit pink.
"Sorry. I thought somehow, telling a Fishman I like eel would be like you telling me you eat human babies."
"Fishman and fish are very different, like humans and fish are," he grunted. "We are higher up on the food chain, as far as I care. A passing resemblance and an evolutionary link does not mean we care about them any more. After all, you humans came from mammals, but you eat those all the time."
"You're right," she mumbled.
"There ya go. I'll see if we can't catch eel some other night. Now, pay attention and add more water to the pot there!" Jinbei went back to spicing and turning the tuna, and Banheart chuckled softly. Did she actually catch a glimpse of kindness on his face?
Upon arriving at Impel Down, Jinbei disembarked with Banheart at his side, but nobody would have known it was her. Jinbei had bought her a blue full-body robe that covered her from neck to toe, and as it clasped loosely in the front, it allowed room for her considerable middle. She also wore a full veil over her head and most of her face. Only her eyes and hands were visible. It was be a carefully constructed ploy to ensure that they appeared as unsuspicious as possible, complete with a few practiced lines and an adopted air of both elegance and submission. The most important thing, he'd said, was that she was not identified by anybody in the prison- most importantly, none of the prisoners. Jinbei held her by the crook of her elbow, and it was fortunate that he was there to hold her up, because she nearly fainted when Shiryuu of the Rain greeted them at the door.
"Shichibukai Jinbei! To what do we owe this honor?" Shiryuu smirked around the cigar in his teeth. A guard held the door to let both Jinbei and Banheart into the impressive, dark lobby with Shiryuu on Jinbei's other side.
"Didn't your man in the control room tell you? I am here to see our special prisoner. Call it a need for… motivation." Jinbei stood firm and courageous against Shiryuu's terrifying glower. Banheart was doing everything in her power to maintain consciousness in her fear.
"Ahh, want to see what you'll be fighting for, is that it? Get a bit of fire in your belly!" Shiryuu clapped his hands together. "Excellent. And what creature is this?" He stepped around to stand right in front of her. She lowered her eyes, and Jinbei snorted.
"My newest wife. A tribute from one of the islands under my protection." He glowered down at her as she stared at Shiryuu's feet. "She's something of a quiet girl, but most obedient. Much brighter than one ordinarily wants a woman to be, but since she is able to occupy herself well, I find her not too needy for my liking. She asked, as a gift, that I let her see the fearsome prisoner, and I obliged. Woman, greet Shiryuu, master of this jail." Banheart lifted her eyes for a brief moment, and bowed somberly.
"Ah, how fortunate you are. I suppose one harmless little woman won't be an imposition." Shiryuu folded his arms. "Despite your status, we will need to search both you and your wife."
"Right," Jinbei muttered. Shiryuu waved over one of the other guards.
"Domino, check Sir Jinbei for weapons. Surely you will be more comfortable revealing yourself to her." Shiryuu glanced down to Banheart. "I will take this woman." Shiryuu grabbed her arm and led her to one of the search rooms. Jinbei's nostrils flared, but he said nothing.
"Take your clothes off," Shiryuu ordered as he closed the door. Banheart very carefully removed the robe and her skirt, and set them aside. "Your scarf and camisole, too."
"My husband," she whispered, almost in protest.
"He's not here." Shiryuu put out his spent cigar on a wall and lit a fresh one. "Take your clothes off."
Terrified, Banheart stripped off her veil and top. She clasped her arms over her chest, though she knew she should have been trying to hide her face. Shiryuu patted down her panties and, with some effort, forced her arm away. He checked between and under her breasts, and then let her hide them again. "Pah. Clean. That just leaves this." He jabbed her middle with his index finger, and she whimpered in surprised pain. "You've got a tattoo and a brand. Very interesting, that a Shichibukai's wife is marked as a Marine. Tell me, before you were given to Jinbei, what were you?"
"I am not allowed to speak without the consent of my husband," she recited, as Jinbei had instructed her.
"He's not here!" Shiryuu barked. "Who were you?"
"An artist," she whispered, lowering her eyes.
"Does he beat you?" Shiryuu growled.
"No, my husband would never…" She bowed her head as though shamed. She thought of Ace, and looked up at him with an accusing glare. "I am an obedient wife!"
"Not even faithful to your race, whore!" Shiryuu towered over her, his full strength clearly apparent. She quivered with pure fear, as he continued to pace around her, circling her like a shark. "How does a human conceive with a fish?"
She shivered, struggling to find a lie. Finally, it came. "I do not pretend to understand, but that man is the only one I ever laid with!" She cried furiously. Think of Ace, think of Ace… "You have insulted my honor. My husband will be unhappy."
"Shut up!" Shiryuu barked. "No wonder you are forbidden to speak." He seemed to grow ever bigger and more terrifying, and she couldn't help but cringe.
"Don't hurt my child," she whimpered instinctively, and Shiryuu wound back and slapped her in the face.
"You make one false move, girl, and I'll have you dipped in boiling blood!" Banheart cried out and shrunk away, but there was a knock at the door.
"Sir," Domino interrupted from the doorway. "Sir Jinbei has nothing on him. Is this woman clean?"
Shiryuu glowered at her for another moment, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Unless she's hidden a weapon in her womb, then she is," he muttered, throwing her clothes back at her. She quickly began to redress, and Domino glanced around him to her.
"Sir, you must be gentler. I have noticed your escalating violence recently, and it bodes poorly," Domino stated coolly, avoiding his eyes. "Perhaps you need a vacation-"
"I am fine. Know your place!" Shiryuu sounded vicious; she could imagine the look of fury on his face just from his voice. Banheart finished redressing and rushed past Shiryuu to get back to Jinbei's side. He received her by taking her hand, and put his other hand to her cheek. He shifted her scarf, and scowled when he saw the bruise, but said nothing.
"Are you satisfied, Shiryuu?" Jinbei grumbled.
"No," Shiryuu replied snidely. "But I'm certain you have no weapons on you."
"Let's go, then. We've been delayed enough." Jinbei folded his arms and scowled coldly.
"Cuff them," Shiryuu ordered another guard. Jinbei accepted the cuffs on his arms, Banheart held her hands out- Jinbei had told her to expect this- and Domino clapped the cuffs around her wrists.
"Now?" Jinbei demanded, with all the pomp of an emperor.
"Yes." Shiryuu unlocked the door to the staff stairwell. "Follow me." He entered the vast, spiraling chamber and began to stroll down. Jinbei briefly glanced to her.
"Can you manage the stairs, wife?"
"I will tolerate it," she replied. "I wish to see this terrible man." Banheart's face was stony, even as the skin under her eye swelled and became purple. Jinbei nodded.
"You are strong-willed. I admire that about you."
They made their way down the vast, steep stairwell. Shiryuu led the way, and two other guards followed behind them. Banheart tried very hard not to show the signs of the strain the walk had on her, trying to muffle her panting and refusing to let herself slow. She didn't want to provoke Shiryuu by showing even a moment of weakness, and she just kept thinking of Ace. Still, she could feel herself beginning to exhaust, and knew that the trip back up would be even worse. Jinbei seemed to be able to discern her feelings despite her front.
"We are nearly there," he assured her, and she looked down. She could see Shiryuu standing by a door, unlocking it, and there were no more stairs. There was a dim light, and Banheart found her second wind. Jinbei grabbed her elbow to keep her from rushing, and they emerged into the hallway.
"Welcome to the sixth floor," Shiryuu muttered, accentuating this by blowing a smoke ring. "Come along. This way." He turned on his heel and led the way down the long, eerie corridor. Jinbei stepped in front of Banheart and marched behind him, and she followed in lockstep directly behind him. Jinbei had warned her not to look at anyone or anything except what she was directed to look at, and though curiosity nagged her like a bird pecking on her head, she kept her eyes on the back of Jinbei's robe. She could hear whispers and snickers, and swallowed hard.
"Jinbei!" A voice called from within a cell. Don't look, don't look, don't look- she looked. Jinbei had looked too, and she quickly looked back at Jinbei's back. She had only caught a glimpse- slicked back hair, and a massive scar across his face.
"Crocodile," Jinbei muttered, and said nothing else. Banheart flinched- she knew that name, an ex-Shichibukai. He wondered if he'd seen her face.
"Our prize prisoner," Shiryuu said with a smirk, and he stopped at a cell. "There, Jinbei. I will give you a few moments of privacy." Shiryuu stepped back several yards and went to stalk the hallway, glaring menacingly at the other prisoners, and Jinbei and Banheart faced Ace.
Banheart wanted to vomit. He was burned, bruised, bloody, bedraggled. His hair was matted with blood, his skin was coated in a layer of grime and dried blood, she didn't even know how much more blood he could spill without dying. The fire in his eyes seemed to have extinguished. His hands no longer looked warm. She held her tongue and moved a few inches behind Jinbei.
"What a sight you are, Portgas D. Ace," Jinbei finally muttered. Ace let out a weak chuckle.
"Whose fault is that?" Banheart smiled under the veil- there was a little fire left. "What brings you to this corner of hell?"
"Visiting an old rival, what else?" Jinbei put his hands behind his back. "We never did finish our old battle, boy."
"I'll say you won, then. Your side won." Ace hung his head. "How's that for a victory?"
"Hollow," Jinbei stated. "Doesn't mean a goddamn thing! Ain't a victory at all- if I was going to win, I wanted to win with my own two hands!"
"Same ol' Jinbei. Don't you lose that spirit, old man," Ace mumbled. He then glanced to the side. "Who's your guest?" Jinbei glanced to Banheart almost nonchalantly.
"That's right. Come here. The prisoner you asked to see, girl. Go on. Take a good look. This is what I'm protecting you from!" Jinbei put his hand on the small of her back to nudge her forward, and she edged closer to the bars. His eyes were fixed on hers. "This is my newest wife. I received her as a tribute from Banaro Island. Maybe you've heard of it?" Ace silently scowled. "Congratulate her, boy. She will be a mother in three months."
"Congratulations," Ace muttered. He was still staring at her eyes, the only part of her he could see. He was obviously thinking, but was keeping it out of his voice. "I wish you health. Jinbei, as crude as this sounds, I haven't seen a real, decent woman in a long time. Do a dying man a favor; let me see her face."
"Would it shame you to show this man your face?" Jinbei asked elegantly. She shook her head, and knelt down in front of the bars so that only he could see her. She struggled against the handcuffs to lift her hands, but removed the scarf that covered her face. Ace's eyes widened, his jaw limp. He shook his head in disbelief.
"She is beautiful, Jinbei," Ace choked. "So beautiful, I feel like's it's wrong to look at her." As she leaned forward, she shifted the open front of her robe to reveal the tattoo on her swollen belly, as though to prove herself twice over. He shook his head in utter disbelief. "You are a very lucky man to have her. But you… Are you at all disgusted to be carrying the child of a monster?" His eyes were full of something between sadness and anger.
"Never for a second," she whispered, feigning defensiveness. "The father of my child is not a monster. He is a perfect gentleman, and I could not love and adore him more." Ace lowered his eyes, his eyes tracing her stretched tattoo. He tried to lean closer, but his hands were pinned tight to the wall. His eyes then flew back to her face.
"He hurt you?" Ace's eyes narrowed. "Did that son of a bastard hurt you? Who hit you?"
"Never!" Banheart cried. "He never hurt me!" Jinbei's eyes darted over towards Shiryuu, and Ace gritted his teeth. His eyes were fixed on her. He wanted to speak. He wanted to say more than he knew he could say. Finally, he let it escape on mouthed words:
'I'm sorry.' She was sure that was what he was mouthing, and tears sprung to her eyes. He spoke aloud again after a moment's thought. "Jinbei, this is a wonderful woman you have." He paused, mouth open, still staring at her. "She is more beautiful than any monster deserves. Take care of that child. You take good care of them, you hear me! And be sure she knows how loved she is!" Ace glared at the ceiling as he fought back tears. "I don't know how often you are told, but god damn it, you should know you are loved! Do you know how god damn loved you are?"
"I know," she whispered, pressing her hands to her eyes. Ace's voice continued to rise.
"Jinbei, if I hear a word saying that she's been mistreated, even when I'm rotting in the grave, I will come back and avenge her! She's a wonderful goddamn woman! She deserves to be treated like a goddess!"
"You're delirious, boy!" Jinbei snapped. Even though Ace looked enraged, Banheart had to smile. There was fire in his eyes again, and she smiled through her tears.
"She," Ace hissed, "is the most amazing thing I've seen in my whole life! You brought an angel to the pits of hell!" Banheart held up a finger, as though to halt him and get his attention. Ace stopped, eyes wide, and stared at her. She put her fingers at the corners of her mouth.
"Smile," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear. Slowly, he caught his breath, and forced a smile. She folded her hands over her middle, and he nodded. His smile became real for a split second, and he chewed his lower lip. It was a face somewhere between joy and complete despair, and he mouthed something she couldn't make out. He kept mouthing it, over and over, until she nodded to show that she understood. "Yes, and you, too." she whispered. She wasn't sure, but she wanted to believe that he was saying he loved her. It looked enough like it, and she was happy just to see the smile on his face. He leaned as far forward as he could, desperate to get closer.
"Love her!" Ace demanded, tears mingling with the grime on his cheeks.
"Jinbei, she's maddened him!" Shiryuu barked. Banheart didn't want to stand up, as Ace's wide eyes focused on her, but Jinbei tapped her shoulder.
"That's enough, woman," Jinbei muttered. "It is enough for her. I'm satisfied. Let's end this." She quickly fixed the scarf on her face and head, and Jinbei helped her to a stand. Ace kept lunging forward, as far as he could, as though trying to break free and get to her. Shiryuu shot him a cold look, but Ace kept struggling.
"She's amazing. She's awesome. Be sure she's cared for!"
"Shut up!" Jinbei roared, to her surprise. He protectively pulled her close to him and away from Ace. "How dare you take such a tone." He turned his gaze down to her, though she still looked at Ace. "You're lucky you travel with the one man on the sea who can protect you from such rogues." Jinbei gave Ace a pointed look, and he silenced, biting his tongue. Jinbei quickly escorted Banheart away, following Shiryuu's lead.
"I'll ensure he is punished for frightening the girl, Sir Jinbei," Shiryuu assured him with a smirk.
"You were going to do so anyway."
"Beside the point." Banheart kept looking back, wishing she could look at Ace for one more second, but he was restricted and held back against the wall. She knew, however, that he knew what he needed to know to die peacefully. Shiryuu opened the stairwell door to allow them in, and locked it behind them.
"Kwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Crocodile howled with laughter from his cell. "Fools! Utter, worthless fools!"
"Why's that?" A prisoner in another cell grumbled.
"What, you can't figure it out? There is absolutely no way that woman is Jinbei's wife! He would never take up with a girl like that!" Crocodile continued to laugh raucously. "There's no way it's his child!" He pounded the floor, laughing like a madman. "Portgas, is that your child? Kwahaha!"
"Hah! Some conjugal visit!" Another prisoner laughed.
"Hey, Croc, didja see her? Was she hot?"
"Weak-minded simpletons, is that all you can think of?" Crocodile snapped, before cackling at Ace again. "Did you even know?" Ace said nothing. "Portgas! Did you know you were going to be a father?"
"She isn't mine," Ace muttered, hiding a smile in his cell as he lied and denied himself. "That's one of my sisters, we were close. That's Whitebeard's baby. Lucky old bastard. Going to be a real father as his age." He faked a chuckle. "Guess the old guy's still got it." He shook his head, lowering his head to try and hide his tears from the security Den-Den Mushi. "I'm glad for her. For him, too. I couldn't be so lucky. Don't deserve it at all."
Banheart did not cry. She did not cry as she walked up the six flights of stairs, though her legs were sore and her ankles were swollen. She did not cry as Jinbei shook Shiryuu's hand and escorted her back onto his boat. She did not cry when she removed her robe and scarf and looked herself in the mirror to survey the bruise that had formed where she'd been slapped. She did not cry as they began to sail away, back to where they'd agreed to meet Whitebeard. Once they were on course, Jinbei sat down beside her on the bench, and he waited.
She did not cry until they were a full hour away from Impel Down. Jinbei had sat beside her for that entire hour, waiting, and when she did start, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and let her rest her head on his chest. His touch was not warm, but it was chivalrous. "There, now. You don't need to hold back," he murmured sympathetically. "Think of how lucky you are. It's obvious from the way he looked at you that he loves you very much, and he very obviously wants you and your child to thrive, even if it is his. I didn't think he'd get so emotional. Why'd Shiryuu hit you?"
"I… I talked too much!" Banheart squeaked. "He… he was implying that I was a slut, that I was unfaithful to you, and I was thinking of Ace, and I told him he'd insulted my honor, because I would never do that to Ace! He was enraged. I asked him not to hurt the child. He hit me. Oh god, Sir Jinbei, he stripped me naked and touched my breasts, and he thought I'd put a weapon inside of me! I know… he didn't violate me… but I've been ruined. I've been ruined so many times. How can Ace still love me after what he's seen them do to me?"
"Bah! He probably loves you all the more for the shit you've put up with for his sake. He's a good boy, and his heart is true. When he wants something, he fights for it. He don't deserve to die." Jinbei still frowned, but he patted her shoulder with the affection of kindness. "He has a very large family that cares for him deeply, and I'm gonna have words with the Fleet Admiral myself! I'll do whatever is in my power to help him, on my honor as a man. I could see on his face that he wanted nothing more than to take and embrace you. I admire that boy for his tenacity, and for his sake, I shall see to it that he gets his wish."
Five days after Banheart arrived back on Whitebeard's ship, she heard that Jinbei had caused an uproar at Marineford and now sat in Impel Down with Ace. She couldn't help but be happy that Ace at least had such friendly company.
End Notes: So,in order to catch up a little with the schedule, I will probably post the next chapter on Saturday, and then next Thursday, things will be pretty much back to normal!
That means you get three chapters in the space of two. Because, frankly, I like this story and I don't want to wait.
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